Sweden’s prosecution authority has said that it has closed an investigation into the Dutch Eurovision contestant Joost Klein, who was excluded from the contest’s final following an incident with a female member of the production crew.
The camera operator filed a police complaint against Klein alleging that he made “threatening” moves toward her following his 9 May semi-final performance in Malmö.
The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS said at the time that the incident involved Klein being filmed directly after coming off stage “against clearly made agreements”.
The European Broadcasting Union, which oversees the event, disqualified Klein from the contest just hours before the 11 May final, a move AVROTROS criticised as “not proportional” to the incident.
The Swedish prosecutor said he had closed the case due to lack of evidence.
“I have closed the investigation today because I cannot prove that the action was aimed at provoking serious fear or that there was any such intent,” senior prosecutor Fredrik Jonsson said in a statement.
Switzerland’s Nemo and the song The Code went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest, becoming the first artist identifying as non-binary to claim victory, in a competition that was otherwise marked by controversy over Israel’s participation during the war in Gaza.
Source: AFP