ABSTRACT
In this very personal account, the author discusses being rather unexpectedly pressed into the unfamiliar role of ‘expert’ in a case regarding the forced marriage of an under-age Syrian refugee in Sweden. In Swedish courts, so-called fri bevisprövning (literally, ‘free sifting’) is used as a method of gathering and evaluating evidence. While it is still unusual to use anthropologists or other kinds of non-legal experts (known as sakkunniga) in criminal cases in Sweden, this method opens up the possibility of introducing expert evidence into legal proceedings.
The chapter starts with a discussion of the development of the complex legal framework in Sweden concerning so-called honour crimes, forced marriage, and marriage of under-aged persons, and moves on to the specifics of the case. The author openly acknowledges her own ignorance of legal procedure and the difficulties of having to navigate the uneasy relationship between the Swedish legal framework and her own intimate knowledge of Syrian family law. The chapter concludes with the author's reflections on the intersection of legal ignorance and anthropological expertise.
