This guide is informational. Always verify how the rules apply to your specific case.
The five requirements
| Requirements in Section 1 | What it means |
|---|---|
| Significant risk | Concrete risk of serious crime against life, health, freedom, or peace if the name or contact details become known. Not a general concern. |
| Serious crime | At least two years' imprisonment as the minimum penalty, or an assessed penalty value exceeding two years. |
| Other measures are insufficient | Protection, link, or closed doors without anonymity must be inadequate or significantly more difficult. |
| Appropriateness | The measure must otherwise be appropriate. |
| Defense | The reasons must outweigh the difficulty for you to prepare and conduct your defense. |
All five must be fulfilled. A threat is not enough if the defense cannot prepare. A serious crime is not enough if the risk is not significant.
Who applies, and who gets to know the name
Section 3: the prosecutor, the suspect, or the accused applies to the district court. The Swedish National Courts Administration writes that you as the suspect should go through the defense attorney, and that the application must not be sent by regular mail or regular email. First, make oral contact with the district court.
When the prosecutor applies, the court must appoint a public counsel according to Section 4. The counsel monitors legal security in the anonymity case. The counsel is not your defense attorney. At the meeting, the applicant must account for the witness's identity, if the witness is close to a party, and if there are circumstances affecting credibility. That account remains in the anonymity case. The court that then judges should not know more about the identity than you do.
Section 9 may provide the witness with a link, closed doors, distorted voice, or concealed appearance. Section 11: the decision applies immediately unless the court decides otherwise. Appeal, and request that a higher court temporarily stop the decision if the hearing would otherwise take place.
What happened the first time
On June 4, 2026, Umeå District Court heard the first anonymous witness in a Swedish main hearing. The defense was not informed of the person's identity. Attorney Emily Töyrä stated that the reliability could not be tested. When the verdict was issued on September 17, the court wrote that the statement had not been decisive evidence in any part. This is an assessment in that case, not a rule that anonymous witnesses always carry less weight.
Frequently asked questions
When can the court allow a witness to be anonymous?
Only if all five requirements in Section 1 of the law (2024:1180) are met: a significant risk of a serious crime against the witness or a relative, a crime with at least two years imprisonment or a penalty value over two years, that other measures are insufficient, that it is appropriate, and that the reasons outweigh the difficulty for the defense.
Can the witness themselves request to be anonymous?
No. The application is made by the prosecutor, the suspect, or the accused at the district court.
Will I and my defense attorney know who the witness is?
No, if the permit is granted. The court that reviews the anonymity receives the identity. The court that judges should not know more than you do.
What is the public representative?
A person appointed by the court when the prosecutor applies. The representative monitors legal security in the anonymity case. It is not your defense attorney.
Is the decision effective immediately?
Yes, unless the court decides otherwise. Appeal and request that a higher court halts the decision temporarily.
Has it been used in a trial?
Yes. Umeå District Court heard an anonymous witness on June 4, 2026. The court later stated that the testimony was not decisive.
Sources and related guides
- Law (2024:1180) on anonymous witnesses in criminal cases
- Sveriges Domstolar: Application for a witness to be heard anonymously
- Degrees of suspicion: reasonably suspected and probable cause
- Police interrogation as a suspect – your rights
- Secret coercive measures: surveillance and data reading
Last fact-checked: October 15, 2026.
