Doctors in da Costa case awarded two million kronor each in state compensation
Thomas Allgén and Teet Härm have been awarded two million kronor each by the state after being named in court judgement findings they could not appeal. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer announced the decision on ex gratia compensation.
State compensation for doctors in Catrine da Costa case
Thomas Allgén and Teet Härm have been awarded two million kronor each in ex gratia compensation from the government, announces Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer (M). This is reported by Svenska Dagbladet.
The two doctors were charged almost 40 years ago with the murder of Catrine da Costa, a woman found dead and dismembered in Stockholm in 1984. The district court acquitted them of the murder charges but nevertheless named them in the court findings as responsible for the dismemberment – an act that at that time was classified as a violation of the sanctity of the grave.
The doctors were never convicted of that offence, nor were they even charged with it, because it was time-barred when the case was tried. The naming in the court findings could not be appealed.
It was precisely this circumstance that Strömmer cited as the reason for the compensation. In a rule-of-law state, no one should be able to be named as guilty in court findings without the possibility of review, the minister emphasised.
Source: Svenska Dagbladet