Swedish student fined for faking mental illness

A Swedish art student was fined 2,500 kronor (€245.45) today for faking mental illness for an art project.

Stockholm District Court convicted 35-year-old Anna Odell of violent resistance and dishonest conduct, but acquitted her of charges of raising a false alarm.

The court said Odell resisted attempts by police and hospital staff to restrain her while acting suicidal on a bridge in Stockholm in January.

The artist said she was re-enacting a real episode in her life in 1995 and wanted to highlight how patients are treated in Sweden’s psychiatric wards.

The videotaped enactment was harshly condemned by health authorities in Sweden and stirred debate about the legal boundaries of art.