A Frenchman jailed for rape in a scandal that rocked the prestigious Swedish Academy that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature has arrived at his appeals trial in Stockholm.
Jean-Claude Arnault, 72, was sentenced to two years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of 115,000 Swedish krona ($A17,500) last month after he was found guilty on one of two charges of raping a woman back in 2011.
At the appeals trial Arnault's defence is expected to present new evidence and call on two new witnesses, including his wife, a poet and former Swedish Academy member Katarina Frostenson.
Since the scandal the Swedish Academy has cut ties with Arnault.
An audit it commissioned found he had not influenced decisions on awards and grants, but if found that financial support his literary club received from the academy broke impartiality rules, as his wife was a co-owner.
The case sparked an internal conflict within the Swedish Academy and led to the resignations of eight academics.
The academy has embarked on several reforms and postponed this year's Nobel Prize in Literature for the first time in seven decades.
Australian Associated Press
