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It is Anders Eriksson, who survived the disaster, who demands that the interrupted preliminary investigation be resumed.
– Above all, it is a question of what legal level, be it the Public Ministry or lower than the Public Ministry, at a lower legal level, that must be handled. And I’ll take a closer look at this. And then I’ll also look at any criminal suspicions here and we have rules to abide by in terms of prescription and other things. But I have to look and review this, before I can provide information on the ongoing prosecution, says Gunnar Merkel, who is the head of supervision at the Public Ministry.
The prosecutor is now taking position on whether the preliminary investigation into crimes related to the Estonian disaster should be reopened. In connection with the sinking of Estonia on 28 September 1994, when 852 people were killed, the prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand initiated the preliminary investigation and four years later concluded that it should be closed. Therefore, a legal review of the responsibility of the accident has not been carried out.
New information on damage to the Estonian hull in the Estonian documentary has prompted survivor Anders Eriksson to request that the preliminary investigation be resumed 22 years after its closure.
– It is above all this film then, as far as I understand then, a documentary that has been, that I get to see then, I have to start there. In the coming weeks, I hope to reach a decision, says Gunnar Merkel in the Public Ministry.
When it comes to responsibility in the case of the Estonian passenger ship, it is primarily the owner of the ship, as the captain was killed in the accident. The owners were the Estline shipping company and the Swedish Nordström and Thulin.
Gunnar Merkel says it is not possible to say how great the possibility is that the preliminary investigation will be resumed.
– Regarding the result, I cannot comment on anything, as I said. It’s a terrible event that took place many years ago and we have prescription rules to relate to. But I’ll be doing some of this stuff and then we’ll see what it will turn out to when it comes to continuous processing, that’s what I can say right now.
