The victim was killed when he was stabbed with scissors in the neck at the Stensjön lake in Grycksbo, near Falun in May. The man's wife said it was the result of a family conflict, where the perpetrator took offence to her and the victim's daughters shaking hands with boys.
According to the wife the older relative asked the father to kill the daughters, but he refused, and was subsequently lured to the lake then murdered.
The prosecutor had worked for a life sentence, arguing the murder was honour-related, but Falu District Court said there was not sufficient evidence to prove that beyond reasonable doubt. A request from the prosecutor that the perpetrator should be given a deportation order was also not granted.
The victim and suspect are both relatives of Fadime Sahindal, who in 2002 was murdered by her father following her speech at the Riksdag about honour culture and oppression at the hands of male relatives. It is one of the most high-profile honour killing cases in Sweden.
One of her other relatives was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his ex-wife’s partner earlier this year.