Sweden drops case against mother over holding son captive for years

A Swedish prosecutor has dropped the case against a woman who was briefly detained on suspicion of holding her adult son captive in their flat for years.

"She is not suspected of any crime. We have not found any evidence of that," prosecutor Emma Olsson told Swedish Radio on Thursday.

The incident seemed linked "to some form of mental illness" and resulted in a withdrawal from society, she added.

Olsson said the investigation had not shown any sign of a criminal offence, adding "the matter was more for the health and social welfare services."

The woman, in her 70s, was detained on Monday, the day after her  son, 41, was taken to hospital after a relative alerted authorities.

Olsson ordered the woman released on Wednesday.

Medical examination

A medical examiner had not found any sign that the man had suffered injuries due to abuse, and his sores were the result of illness, Olsson said.

Earlier this week, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said the mother was being investigated on suspicion of illegal deprivation of liberty, causing gross bodily harm and causing illness.

The man was found on Sunday in a flat in Haninge, a municipality south of the capital.

Stockholm tabloids Aftonbladet and Expressen, which broke the story late on Monday, reported that the man could have been held illegally in the flat for almost 30 years.

Sources quoted by Aftonbladet said that the mother was "extremely over-protective" and took her son out of school when he was around the age of 12.