Monday, in a retrial, two Swedish documentary filmmakers who captured the shipwreck of an Estonian ferry were convicted guilty of violating the sacredness of the site where hundreds perished.
The Estonia sank in 1994, killing 852 people in one of the deadliest maritime tragedies of the 20th century. According to the BBC, it was the second-deadliest peacetime sinking of a European ship after the Titanic.
After opting not to salvage the shipwreck, Sweden, Estonia, and Finland reached an agreement in 1995 to declare it as a final resting place and make it unlawful to disturb the site.
A photograph taken on September 29, 1994 shows Finnish Army recruits transferring victims of the MS Estonia ferry catastrophe from the island of Uto to the mainland in an amphibious landing craft. MARKKU ULANDER/AFP courtesy of Getty Images
A film crew took a remotely-operated submarine to the ship in 2019 while producing a documentary that aired the following year, revealing a big hole in the hull and casting doubt on the official investigation’s conclusions.
The Gothenburg district court ruled in February 2021 that Swedish documentary filmmaker Henrik Evertsson and Swedish deep-sea analyst Linus Andersson had violated the so-called “Estonia Law.”
However, the court concluded that they could not be held responsible because they were on a ship flying the flag of Germany in international seas at the time.
While several nations have joined the 1995 agreement, Germany has not.
However, an appeals court in Gothenburg remanded the case to the lower court for a retrial on the grounds that “Estonian law” does apply because the filmmakers are Swedish.
Judge Goran Lundahl stated on Monday that the lower court had taken into account the fact that the wreck “is a mass grave for a large number of people.”
He said in a statement, “Defending the sanctity of the deceased is more essential than protecting freedom of expression and information.”
The court viewed the couple’s intent as a mitigating circumstance and sentenced them to fines equal to their income. The court did not specify the sum.
The initial investigation found that the accident was caused by the ship’s bow hatch being ripped open in rough seas, causing water to flood the vehicle deck.
Experts told the filmmakers that the hole in the hull could only have been caused by a large external force, raising questions about what actually occurred.
A crew member who survived the catastrophe told the BBC at the time that he had witnessed a loading bay door open and taking in water minutes before the ship sank.
Over twenty years, victims’ relatives and survivors have lobbied for a more thorough investigation.
According to the BBC, survivor Carl Eric Reintamm stated in the documentary, “I believe the truth is different from what people have been told up until now.”
In response to the documentary, the laws prohibiting dives were changed to permit a reexamination of the wreck.
Sweden and Estonia initiated a new probe in July 2021.
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