French photographer in Nobel scandal jailed for rape
Stockholm, Oct 1 : A French photographer at the centre of a sexual abuse and financial misconduct scandal that led to the postponement of 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature was on Monday sentenced to two years in prison for rape.
A Swedish court found Jean-Claude Arnault, 72, guilty on one count of rape against a woman in 2011 and dismissed another count of rape in the same year against the same woman, the Guardian reported.
Arnault is married to Katarina Frostenson, a poet and a former member of the centuries-old Swedish Academy, which awards the world's most prestigious literary prize. The crisis forced the institution to cancel this year's award.
The verdict came at the start of Nobel prize week, shortly before the award for medicine was announced.
The court said there was "sufficient evidence, consisting mainly of statements during the trial by the injured party and several witnesses", to convict the defendant of one of the two counts of rape with which he had been charged.
"The defendant is found guilty of rape committed during the night between the October 5 and October 6, 2011," the court said while announcing its verdict.
It added that the victim had also been "awarded compensation for damages" and ordered Arnault to pay about $12,000.
The victim's lawyer, Elisabeth Massi Fritz, said her client was "relieved" following the verdict.
A total of 18 women accused Arnault of a range of sexual misconduct between 1996 and 2017. Most of the cases occurred too long ago to be prosecuted, but in June, charges were filed against him relating to two separate incidents involving the same woman in October 2011.
He denied all the incidents, many of which were said to have happened at properties owned by the Academy or at his literary club.
In light of the scandal, the Swedish Academy had cut ties with Arnault and commissioned an audit that found while he had not influenced decisions on awards and grants, financial support his literary club received from the Academy broke impartiality rules, as his wife was a co-owner.
The case sparked an internal conflict within the Academy and led to a wave of resignations, including by Frostenson and organisation head Sara Danius.
Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter had reported that an internal investigation by the Academy had concluded Arnault may have leaked the names of seven Nobel literature laureates -- the subject of heavy betting -- in advance of their announcement, including those of US singer Bob Dylan in 2016 and British playwright Harold Pinter in 2005.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Pune accident: Porsche car's registration was pending since March due to non-payment of Rs 1,758 fee
Mumbai, May 21: The permanent registration of the luxury Porsche car involved in the accident in which two IT professionals were fatally knocked down by in Pune city was pending since March due to non-payment of Rs 1,758 fees by the owner, top officials of the Maharashtra transport department said on Tuesday.
The electric luxury sports sedan - Porsche Taycan - was being driven allegedly by a prominent builder's 17-year-old son, who the police claim was drunk at the time of the accident that took place in Kalyani Nagar area in the early hours of Sunday.
Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar told PTI that the Porsche car was imported in March by a dealer in Bengaluru and from there it was sent to Maharashtra on a temporary registration.
"When it was produced at the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO), it was found that a certain registration fee was not paid and the owner was asked to pay the amount for completion of the procedure. However, the vehicle was not brought to the RTO for the completion of the registration process after that," he said.
According to officials, road tax is exempted for electric vehicles registered in Maharashtra, and hence for the registration of this Porsche Taycan model, the registration fees that were applicable were only Rs 1,758 with the break-up of Rs 1,500 hypothecation fees, Rs 200 smart card RC fees and Rs 58 postal charges.
Interestingly, as per Porsche India's website, the ex-showroom price of the vehicle manufacturer's various cars starts at Rs 96 lakh and goes over Rs 1.86 crore. Though the price of the Porsche Taycan model is not given on the website, transport department sources said that it could be in crores.
The officials said that as per their records, the vehicle had a valid temporary registration certificate issued by Karnataka with a validity of six months from March to September 2024.
They said that the Porsche dealer in Bengaluru was not at fault as he had handed over the car after doing the temporary registration. Hence, it was the responsibility of the owner to get it registered at the RTO before plying it on the roads. During the temporary registration period, the vehicles can only be used to drive to and from the RTO.
Bhimanwar said that the teenage boy, who was said to be driving the car, will be barred from getting a driving licence until he turns 25 years of age, and the luxury car will also not be allowed to register at any RTO office for 12 months as its existing temporary registration will be cancelled as per the provisions in the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act.
Under the sub-sections of Section 199A (offenses by juveniles) of the MV Act, the transport authorities can take this action.
Bhimanwar said that their department is going to take stringent action in this case and the Pune RTO has been asked to register the police complaint for violation of provisions in the MV Act
"Whatever violations related to the Motor Vehicles Act happened in the issue, those will be registered in the FIR," Bhimanwar said, adding that they will also invoke the procedure for cancellation of the temporary registration of the vehicle as per the provisions in the act.
"The vehicle will be impounded for 12 months," another top official of the transport department said, adding that there is gross negligence in this case as the vehicle was driven at a speed over 160 kmph, allegedly in an inebriated state as per media reports.
The official said that there are several violations in this case, including driving the vehicle without a driving licence and without its registration, among others.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis said in a press conference in Pune this evening that the car was purchased in Bengaluru and was brought here.
"As per the primary information, the RTI had carried out its inspection but the tax which was required to be paid was not paid. If there is any violation regarding that, a separate FIR will be registered," he said.
