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.
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Abhishek Sharma's massive century guides SRH to 8-wicket win against PBKS
Hyderabad, Apr 12 (PTI): Opener Abhishek Sharma smashed a superb century and shared a 171-run partnership with Travis Head as Sunrisers Hyderabad made a mockery of the massive 245-run chase, registering an eight-wicket win against Punjab Kings here on Saturday.
SRH scored 247 for 2 with nine balls to spare.
Abhishek clobbered 141 off 55 deliveries studded with 14 fours and 10 big hits, while Head made 66 off 37 balls as the duo undid the good work done by Punjab Kings' captain Shreyas Iyer, who hit a 36-ball 82 after electing to bat first.
Abhishek also become the third-highest scorer in IPL history behind Chris Gayle (175 not out) and Brendon McCullum (158 not out).
Earlier, PBKS openers Priyansh Arya (36 off 13 balls) and Prabhsimran Singh (42 off 23) added 66 runs quickly before Iyer carried on the good work along with Nehal Wadhera (27).
Harshal Patel (4/42) emerged as the most successful SRH bowler, while Sri Lankan right-arm quick Eshan Malinga (2/45) took two wickets.
Brief Scores:
Punjab Kings: 245 for 6 in 20 overs (Shreyas Iyer 82, Marcus Stoinis 34 not out, Priyansh Arya 36, Prabhsimran Singh 42; Harshal Patel 4/42, Eshan Malinga 2/45).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 247 for 2 in 18.3 overs (Travis Head 66, Abhishek Sharma 141, Heinrich Klaasen 21 not out).
