According to Swedish police on Monday, the Eurovision Song Contest competitor from the Netherlands, who was abruptly eliminated from the competition just hours before the grand finale, is expected to face charges for making unlawful threats.
Following two dress rehearsals on Friday in which Joost Klein did not show up, the organizer, the European Broadcasting Union, announced that police were looking into a complaint made by “a female member of the production crew” at the competition in the Swedish city of Malmo.
A decision about the charges is expected “within a few weeks,” according to police spokesman Jimmy Modin, who informed The Associated Press that their investigation into the event is complete. He didn’t go into any detail about the alleged threats made by the Dutch performer. What transpired behind the scenes is unknown.
According to the tabloid Aftonbladet, which quoted an unidentified source, Klein once ordered the photographers to stop filming because he was getting agitated by all of them. According to the article, he raised his hand and lunged at a photographer who approached him.
According to the Sydsvenska Daily, a Malmo newspaper, making threats is typically punishable by fines if found guilty.
Emil Andersson, the police officer in charge of the case, told the Swedish network SVT that there would probably be a prosecution.
Additionally, he stated that since there was no more serious criminal involved in the quarrel, there would probably be a judicial process of “accelerated prosecution.” In circumstances of rapid prosecution, an investigation typically takes six to eight weeks on average.
