Sweden has said it had dropped its investigation into a backstage altercation in May involving the Dutch contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest who was expelled from the competition hours before the final.
After fan favorite Joost Klein was removed, organizers said the reason was a probe by Swedish police into “a complaint made by a female member of the production crew.”
In its new statement, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said the investigation concluded that “the man made a movement that hit the woman’s film camera,” adding that “the course of events was fast and was perceived differently by the witnesses of the incident.”
“I cannot prove that the act was capable of causing serious fear or that the man had any such intention,” senior prosecutor Fredrik Jönsson said.
He did not name Klein. The 26-year-old singer and rapper had been a bookies’ favorite with his song “Europapa,” an upbeat ode to the continent’s diversity that is also a tribute to his parents, who died when he was a child.
The last-minute disqualification was unprecedented in the 68-year history of Eurovision. Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, one of dozens of public broadcasters that collectively fund and broadcast the contest, said at the time it was “shocked by the decision.”
After Klein was disqualified, AVROTROS said it found “the penalty very heavy and disproportionate”, stating: “We stand for good manners – let there be no misunderstanding about that – but in our view, an exclusion order is not proportional to this incident.”
Organising body, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), released a statement saying that, “while the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the contest”.
Outside the Malmo Arena in Sweden, where this year’s event was held, pro-Palestine activists were filmed chanting “shame on you” to fans as they entered the venue to watch the final take place. Climate activist Greta Thunberg was filmed being removed from the area by Swedish police, after joining the stop Israel march while wearing a Keffiyeh scarf.