So Sydsvenskan names the suspected army – Sydsvenskan

A senior officer in the Swedish army is deprived of his freedom Those detained on charges of crimes against national security.

Recently, he stood in one television studio after another in uniform and commented on the wars in Ukraine and Israel. Now he is being held handcuffed and taken into custody with full restraints.

At Sydsvenskan, we, ultimately, as the responsible publisher, very quickly came to the conclusion that it was reasonable and correct to name the senior military officer in this case.

I can say that I was relatively alone in making this assessment. SVT and TV4, which appointed the army as an expert on the fund, did not mention names. Neither did the evening newspapers, DN, Svenska Dagbladet or Göteborgs-Posten.

That’s the way I thought about it.

The arrested military man is summoned Johan Hovinen, a lieutenant colonel, has served, among others, in the Military Intelligence Service and the Norwegian Defense Academy.

The crime he is accused of committing and for which he is now in custody is called “false unauthorized operation on a secret mission.” It is a crime against national security that can lead to several years in prison.

It is impossible to know what Johan Hovinen and his FRA employee wife were supposed to do, due to complete secrecy. What can be confirmed is that Sabu believed it was a “very serious crime” and that the police deemed it necessary to arrest the couple in a raid and conduct a search of the house. So far only facts that are also partially available to everyone. Johan Hovinen’s name appears to be present in a number of public documents relating to the arrest.

The question then is: Is public interest in the identity of the suspect great enough to justify publishing the name and photo in the newspaper?

Maybe everyone agrees That the event itself is of enormous public interest. A raid on a senior military officer in a sensitive security situation. Suspicion and arrest of serious crimes against national security.

In this case, it is also about a public figure in a position of power. This speaks for Huovinen’s naming. However, not for the wife, who is not a public figure and whose place in power is unclear.

At the same time, Hovinen has not been convicted of any crime, and it is possible that he will be cleared of all suspicions. But the strongest argument against the label is the harm that publication does to the person Johan Hovinen. Can it be justified by the public interest?

In this case, I think so.

Our readers should know who he is. It would be interesting to hear what the cause of SVT or TV4 is; The special expert is locked up, they spread the news widely, but do not tell who he is.

Until the last and perhaps the most important: om Johan Huovinen and Hans Frias så kommer vi Givetvis att erättä det as well.