Swedish UN official resigns after contact with Epstein revealed

By Ilayda Cakirtekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Joanna Rubinstein, chair of Sweden for UNHCR, resigned from her post on Monday after newly unsealed documents revealed that she had visited late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on his private island.

"Joanna chose to leave her assignment after what appeared in the media over the weekend. This was not something that the organization or the board was previously aware of," said Daniel Axelsson, press officer for the Swedish UNHCR, according to daily Expressen.

In 2012, Rubinstein visited Epstein’s private island with her family and later thanked him in an email, describing the stay in positive terms. At the time of the visit, Epstein had already been convicted of sex crimes.

"I was aware of the verdict at the time of the visit. What has subsequently emerged about the extent of the abuse is appalling and something I strongly distance myself from," Rubinstein told Expressen.

The US Justice Department recently released a trove of more than 3 million pages, 2,000 videos and 180,000 images related to Epstein under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which was signed into law by US President Donald Trump on Nov. 19 last year.

The files include photos of prominent figures, grand jury transcripts and investigative records, though many pages were heavily redacted to protect victims.

Epstein was found dead by suicide by hanging in a New York City jail on Aug. 10, 2019, while awaiting trial. He was facing federal charges for operating a sex trafficking network involving underage girls and women, with his death occurring while in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center.