Rylander affair: ”fraud without precedent”

The affair in Geneva concerning the Swedish scientist Ragnar Rylander and his secret connections with the tobacco industry – an affair which has been going on for almost three years – possibly reached its final ruling on December 15th. The Criminal Division of the Court of Justice of the canton of Geneva published its verdict of acquittal in the trial, where professor Rylander sued two representatives of the anti-tobacco organizations CIPRET-Genève and OxyGenève, Jean-Charles Rielle and Pascal Diethelm, for defamation. They were now completely freed of all charges. The lawsuit was brought on because of what they said at their web site ”Prevention”, that professor Rylander had manipulated his studies to suit his covert financier, and that Geneva because of this was the platform for a ”scientific fraud without precedent”.

Two verdicts from 2002 and 2003, where the defendants were found guilty, were appealed and in May 2003 the Swiss Federal Tribunal found the last verdict ”incomprehensible” and referred it back to the Geneva judges who now in their December verdict actually use the same phrasing as was used in the original text that Rielle and Diethelm were sued for:

Geneva has indeed been the platform of a scientific fraud without precedent in the sense that Ragnar Rylander has acted in his capacity of associate professor at the University, taking advantage of its influence and reputation and not hesitating to put science at the service of money, in disregard of the mission entrusted to this public institution, which consists in particular in the dissemination of culture founded on scientific knowledge and in raising awareness of the responsibility that teachers assume towards society. (Page 22 in the verdict.)

(Genève a bien été la plate-forme d’une fraude scientifique sans précédent dans la mesure où Ragnar Rylander a agi en sa qualité de professeur associé de l’Université, profitant de son rayonnement et n’hésitant pas à mettre la science au service de l’argent, au mépris de la mission confiée à cet établissement de droit public qui consiste en particulier à diffuser une culture fondée sur les connaissances scientifiques et à faire prendre conscience de la responsabilité que les enseignants assument envers la société.)

The court puts it rather bluntly that Rylander has lied about his collaboration with the tobacco industry:

Ragnar Rylander has said only a very small part of the truth – the sponsoring by the tobacco industry of the two symposia of 1974 and 1983 – while remaining silent on all the rest, namely, in particular, his role within the INBIFO research laboratory, his permanent links with the lawyers of Philip Morris and the fact that his articles were regularly submitted to Philip Morris before being published. (Page 21 in the verdict.)

(Or, Ragnar Rylander n’a dit qu’une toute petite part de la vérité – le sponsoring par l’industrie du tabac des deux symposiums de 1974 et 1983 – en taisant tout le reste, soit en particulier son rôle au sein du laboratoire de recherches INBIFO, ses liens permanents avec les avocats de Philip Morris et le fait que ses écrits étaient régulièrement soumis à Philip Morris avant d’être publiés.)

You may read the entire verdict (in French) at http://www.prevention.ch/ryju151203.htm

The University of Geneva has an investigation going on regarding Rylander’s research, but the University of Gothenburg has hitherto not found an investigation a necessary measure. On December 18th, however, the Swedish radio (”Vetenskapsnyheterna”) reported that the dean at the medical faculty at the University of Gothenburg, Staffan Eden, now will initiate an investigation in order to form a new policy.

Swedish readers may read a recent interview with professor Rylander in Göteborgs-Posten, December 17th.

See also ”The Rylander affair – at a glance”.

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