The Riksdag voted in favour of an amendment to the Freedom of the Press Act, among other things, on the criminalisation of denial of the Holocaust also as freedom of the press and freedom of expression offences. The decision concerns a constitutional matter pending decision, which means that the Riksdag has taken a previous decision on the same matter.
The amendment to the Freedom of the Press Act means that the provision on agitation against a population group in the Freedom of the Press Act will be clarified and that the scope of application will partly be broadened to the effect that:
- denial of the Holocaust and other international offences will be explicitly criminalised;
- the wording of the legislation will clarify that the regulation includes incitement to violence;
- individuals in the protected group will be given protection and thus injured party status with the right to damages.
The amendments will come into force on 1 January 2027.
Since the decision concerns the Freedom of the Press Act, which is one of the fundamental laws making up the Constitution, the Riksdag is required to vote twice on the proposal with the same outcome, and a with a parliamentary election between the two votes. The first decision on the proposal was taken on 22 May 2024, when the Riksdag voted in favour of the proposal. A parliamentary election has since been held.
Committee report (in Swedish):
En tydligare bestämmelse om hets mot folkgrupp (vilande grundlagsförslag) (KU3)