better late than ….never?
Via The Local:
In a statement criticizing the death sentence, or fatwa, the head of the Swedish Academy, Tomas Riad, said: “The fact that the death sentence has been passed as punishment for a work of literature also implies a serious violation of free speech.”
“The principle of the independence of literature from political control is of fundamental importance for civilization and must be defended against attacks by avengers and the adherents of censorship,” he added.
Using the same principle of independence, the academy had originally declined to take a position on the 1989 fatwa on Rushdie, saying it was torn between showing its support for the author and maintaining its expressed neutrality.