June 15, 2012
Swedish Supreme Court Overturns Manga-Related Conviction
In news breaking on the wires this morning,
the Swedish Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of a manga translator and expert for the images in his possession. Simon Lundstrom was acquitted of child pornography crimes earlier today after being found guilty in two lower courts. One of the drawings was found to be pornographic, but as a group the court held the fact that they are clearly imaginary figures means they can not be mistaken for real children -- I'm a little unclear as to whether or not drawings aren't people is an element of this finding or if the nature of the depiction is the sole important factor, but it sounds like the law's not exactly clear there. Lundstrom was also acquitted of the single pornographic image as its possession was found to be defensible given his profession.
Lundstrom had apparently been found with 51 total images on his hard drive, 39 of which the original indictment said were pornographic. He explained the images were part of his efforts to keep up with the field. Some of the elements of the initial conviction had been reduced as the case found its way to the Supreme Court. The initial conviction came in 2010 and was upheld on appeal last year. A drive to change the related law to better encompass this employment of such images is being pushed by free-speech advocates.
posted 5:20 am PST |
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