The staff 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 numerous backgrounds and nationalities who’ve confronted the traumatic expertise of getting their youngsters 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 instructed Swedish authorities had been kidnapping youngsters from Muslim households.
However Awad Joumaa, head of originals at Al Jazeera 360, mentioned the assaults on the movie had been “deceptive”.
“Al Jazeera 360 emphasises that the collection was developed to discover a fancy social situation affecting households throughout northern Europe,” an announcement from Al Jazeera 360 mentioned. “Behind Closed Doorways presents numerous households from numerous backgrounds and nationalities who’ve confronted the traumatic expertise of getting their youngsters forcibly eliminated by social authorities. In some circumstances, youngsters weren’t solely separated from their mother and father however had been additionally cut up up and positioned in several cities, leaving mother and father unaware of their youngsters’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 court docket paperwork.
Nevertheless, Joumaa mentioned that was deceptive, including that each court docket paperwork and the explanations for the kid removals had been prominently displayed on the display and that rulings or selections that contradicted the households’ claims had been proven, making certain that the official perspective was introduced alongside the households’ narratives.
“This method offered viewers with each views, permitting them to type their very own opinions,” he mentioned.
‘Safety penalties’
Swedish authorities declined to take part within the documentary, in contrast to these in Germany, which offered an official for remark.
Nevertheless, the Swedish response to the movie has been vocal, with PM Kristersson writing on social media that Behind Closed Doorways could possibly be “harmful for Sweden”. He additionally instructed the Swedish newspaper Expressen that it may result in a heightened risk stage towards 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 detrimental picture of Sweden and have an effect on the nation’s affect internationally.
She additionally acknowledged 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 12 months.
On the time, the Swedish Safety Service (SAPO) raised its evaluation of the extent of risk towards Sweden to 4 on a scale of 1 to 5 amid mounting worldwide rigidity over the burning of copies of the Quran at demonstrations.
Joumaa, nonetheless, 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 risk 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 collection, which really spans three elements,” Joumaa mentioned. “This declare overlooks the movie’s depth and the broader points it seeks to discover, focusing as a substitute on a slim perspective with out totally partaking with the content material.”
He added that the manufacturing staff 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 and affect its viewers, and as a substitute introduced the proof and skilled opinions, leaving the judgement as much as the viewer.
“We’re merely placing the arguments and the attitude and the problem on the desk, and that entire level of free debate has been missed,” he mentioned.
To view half one among Behind Closed Doorways (in Arabic), click on here.