Joost Klein requests extra witnesses from The Netherlands amid ongoing legal case in Sweden

Joost Klein’s trial in Sweden was meant to start at the beginning of June. As Swedish broadcaster SVT previously reported, police have fast-tracked the prosecution because of what authorities described as sufficient evidence and because “it is not a more serious crime.”

But that quick-fire approach isn’t sitting well with the “Europapa” singer. Speaking to Swedish tabloid Expressen, prosecutor Fredrik Jönsson from the Malmö Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that Joost is insisting police speak with witnesses who live in the Netherlands. Speaking of the delay, he said:

“It is about Joost and his defence team wanting a number of people in the Netherlands to be heard,” he said. It’s up to Jönsson to decide whether that will happen.

“In that scenario, I need to send a request for legal assistance and that takes a certain amount of time.”

Joost Klein requests extra witnesses from The Netherlands

As you’ll recall, Joost is accused of threatening behaviour toward an EBU camerawoman who was filming him backstage.

AVROTROS, the Dutch broadcaster, clarified the situation in a statement at the time. They wrote:

“An incident occurred after last Thursday’s performance. Against clearly made agreements, Joost was filmed when he had just gotten off stage and had to rush to the greenroom. At that moment, Joost repeatedly indicated that he did not want to be filmed. This wasn’t respected. This led to a threatening movement from Joost towards the camera. Joost did not touch the camera woman. This incident was reported, followed by an investigation by the EBU and police.”

Following his disqualification — on the day of the grand final — AVROTROS said it found the EBU’s decision to exclude him from the contest as “extremely severe and disproportionate.”

A week after Eurovision, Joost’s lawyer said that Joost denies any crime. As Sweden’s state broadcaster SVT reported:

“It was a sensitive occasion where he would not be photographed when he left the stage. He was to be met by his team but there was a photographer. He asked the person to stop filming.”

But according to Joost’s lawyer, the photographer persisted. “Then [Joost] pushed the camera away to remove it. He denies threatening this person.”

Performing in Vancouver, Canada on Monday, Joost expressed discontent with how Eurovision played out. As you can hear in the clip below, he said “F*ck Eurovision.”