Anklagad

Anklagad is a Swedish adjective meaning “accused” or “charged with a crime.” It describes a person who has been formally accused by authorities, or more generally someone who is alleged to have committed an offense. In everyday language and in media, the term is commonly used to refer to the person identified as the accused in a case, for example: den anklagade mannen (the accused man).

In the context of Swedish criminal procedure, anklagad is often used before a formal indictment is issued. Once a case proceeds to court and charges are brought, the term åtalad (the indicted) is more commonly used to denote the person against whom formal charges have been filed. The adjective misstänkt refers to someone who is suspected but not yet formally charged. Thus, anklagad sits between general accusation and formal indictment in typical usage.

The form is declined like a regular Swedish adjective: den anklagade mannen (masculine singular), den anklagade kvinnan (feminine singular), de anklagade männen/kvinnorna (plural). The word shares its meaning with similar terms in other Scandinavian languages, which use comparable forms such as the equivalent of “the accused.”

Etymologically, anklaga stems from the verb meaning to accuse, with anklagad functioning as the past participle used attributively or predicatively. In modern Swedish, it remains a common, neutral descriptor in legal or journalistic contexts, though it is often superseded by more formal terms in official procedure.