The crew behind an Al Jazeera 360 documentary has rejected claims by the Swedish prime minister {that a} movie about baby safety legal guidelines in Europe is “harmful”.
The three-part investigative documentary Behind Closed Doorways, produced by Al Jazeera 360 – a video-on-demand platform that’s a part of the Al Jazeera Media Community – follows households from varied backgrounds and nationalities who’ve confronted the traumatic expertise of getting their kids forcibly eliminated by social authorities in Norway, Sweden, Germany and Luxembourg.
On November 10, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson likened the documentary to the so-called LVU marketing campaign, a misinformation marketing campaign that gained traction on social media in 2022 that advised Swedish authorities have been kidnapping kids from Muslim households.
However Awad Joumaa, head of originals at Al Jazeera 360, stated the assaults on the movie have been “deceptive”.
“Al Jazeera 360 emphasises that the sequence was developed to discover a posh social situation affecting households throughout northern Europe,” an announcement from Al Jazeera 360 stated. “Behind Closed Doorways presents numerous households from varied backgrounds and nationalities who’ve confronted the traumatic expertise of getting their kids forcibly eliminated by social authorities. In some circumstances, kids weren’t solely separated from their mother and father however have been additionally cut up up and positioned in several cities, leaving mother and father unaware of their kids’s whereabouts and with no entry to them.”
SVT, Sweden’s nationwide broadcaster, additionally criticised the documentary, saying that it omitted some particulars on the circumstances included in courtroom paperwork.
Nonetheless, Joumaa stated that was deceptive, including that each courtroom paperwork and the explanations for the kid removals have been prominently displayed on the display and that rulings or choices that contradicted the households’ claims have been proven, guaranteeing that the official perspective was introduced alongside the households’ narratives.
“This strategy supplied viewers with each views, permitting them to kind their very own opinions,” he stated.
‘Safety penalties’
Swedish authorities declined to take part within the documentary, in contrast to these in Germany, which supplied an official for remark.
Nonetheless, the Swedish response to the movie has been vocal, with PM Kristersson writing on social media that Behind Closed Doorways might be “harmful for Sweden”. He additionally instructed the Swedish newspaper Expressen that it may result in a heightened menace degree in opposition to the nation.
Sofia Bard, who heads the Swedish Institute, which analyses Sweden’s picture in the remainder of the world, instructed SVT that the documentary may contribute to a unfavorable picture of Sweden and have an effect on the nation’s affect internationally.
She additionally said that it may have “safety penalties”, referencing the LVU marketing campaign and the Quran burnings which have occurred within the Nordic nation and led to anti-Sweden protests in a number of Muslim-majority nations final yr.
On the time, the Swedish Safety Service (SAPO) raised its evaluation of the extent of menace in opposition to Sweden to 4 on a scale of 1 to 5 amid mounting worldwide pressure over the burning of copies of the Quran at demonstrations.
Joumaa, nevertheless, says the Swedish response overlooks the movie’s depth and the broader points it seeks to look at.
“The assertion that Behind Closed Doorways poses a safety menace to Sweden appears to be primarily based solely on the opinion of 1 safety analyst, who seems to have made a fast evaluation of the sequence, which truly spans three elements,” Joumaa stated. “This declare overlooks the movie’s depth and the broader points it seeks to discover, focusing as a substitute on a slender perspective with out totally participating with the content material.”
He added that the manufacturing crew made a number of makes an attempt to contain Swedish authorities, together with the Ministry of International Affairs, providing them an opportunity to current their viewpoint.
Whereas the ministry redirected the request to the accountable company, the Ministry of Social Affairs rejected an interview request and selected to not cooperate.
Joumaa added that the documentary didn’t try to affect its viewers, and as a substitute introduced the proof and knowledgeable opinions, leaving the judgement as much as the viewer.
“We’re merely placing the arguments and the attitude and the difficulty on the desk, and that complete level of free debate has been missed,” he stated.
To view half one among Behind Closed Doorways (in Arabic), click on here.
