Swedish oil company Lundin began exploiting oil fields in southern Sudan in 1997. In the Unpaid Debt report published by PAX in 2010, we linked the Swedish oil company to the Sudanese army’s war crimes. An estimated 12,000 people were killed in a horrific war for control of oil between 1998 and 2003. An area the size of Belgium was destroyed, looted and depopulated.
The defendants accuse the prosecution in Sweden of not doing its job and being guided by PAX’s report. Wesselink’s testimony on PAX’s methods is therefore of great importance.
‘For two days I faced six judges, four prosecutors and four lawyers for eight hours. Behind me were also four lawyers. Nobody looked at me, nobody reacted to anything either,’ Wesselink says of his testimony. ‘This made it a rather emotionless state, but it allowed me to concentrate well.’
PAX is not a party to the case; Wesselink was present as a witness. Lundin’s only aim was to undermine PAX and Wesselink’s credibility.
‘Yet I didn’t find it intimidating,’ Wesselink amazes, ‘I wasn’t nervous either, because I was prepared. I knew exactly what I wanted to say. At the end of the day, the OM was glowing with joy. The rest looked particularly glum. You could tell from that that they didn’t have a strong case. The defence tried to pull my leg with two trifles. I just thought: ‘Is this all?’
The trial is also important because, for the first time, victims are being listened to publicly. Something like this deters companies from working in conflict zones without taking the population into account.
The verdict is not expected until the end of next year next year.
