Criticism of the Swedish Police Authority for refusing to allow a person to photograph official documents in a police station with the status of protected facility

Summary of the decision: A person who was given access to official documents in a police station was told that they could not photograph the documents as part of the building was subject to a ban on photography.

The Parliamentary Ombudsman notes that a decision to impose a ban on photography or other depiction, whether it is based on the provisions of the Installations Protection Act (SFS 2010:305) or is administrative in nature, cannot exempt an authority from the constitutional requirement to provide the public with access to official documents. If there was an impediment to allowing the person to photograph the documents where they were made available, the person should have been given the opportunity to photograph the documents elsewhere.

The Swedish Police Authority is criticised for failing to provide access in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of the Press Act (SFS 1949:105).