Convicted sex offenders in Sweden are free to read pornography in their cells following a court ruling that has angered the prison service.
The Supreme Administrative Court in Stockholm last week ruled that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service had no right to deny a rape convict access to his porn magazines.
Prison officials had argued that reading porn would interfere with the man's rehabilitation program. They also said the magazines posed a security problem for staff and other inmates because they could increase the risk of the man relapsing into criminal behavior.
But the court, whose ruling cannot be appealed, said the prison service failed to prove that the magazines could "jeopardize the security of the institution."
Prison officials said they had asked the government to change the law so that they could continue to ban porn magazines at the Nordic nation's prisons.
"It increases the risk of assault for other interns and it is provocative for personnel," Elisabeth Kwarnmark, a prison service psychologist, said about the ruling.
Kwarnmark said that other pornographic material, such as adult movies, channels and Web sites, are not permitted in Swedish prisons. Child and violent pornography are also banned.
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