A man has been indicted for hijacking a truck in Stockholm and mowing down pedestrians in April 2017, killing five and injuring 15 others. The man confessed to carrying out a "terrorist crime" in April last year.
Image: Getty Images/M. Campanella
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Swedish prosecutors charged an Uzbek man with attempted terrorism and causing danger to others on Tuesday.
Prosecutors called for a life sentence for the 39-year-old, who is the only suspect in the Stockholm attack , which left five people dead last April. The trial is set to start next month.
- Akilov allegedly planned the attack for months and had wanted to "create fear in the population at large" and "run over unbelievers" in a bid to deter Sweden from it role in the fight against "Islamic State."
- Online conversations revealed that he allegedly asked for practical advice on how to build a bomb, as well as for spiritual guidance ahead of a "martyr operation."
- He also is alleged to have talked about Swedish support for NATO in the online discussions and said the country had sent bomb technicians to Iraq to train Kurdish forces fighting IS, the charges said.
The street scene following the hijacked truck attack in Stockholm that killed five people in April 2017Image: Reuters/TT News Agency/F. Sandberg
When did the attack occur: On April 7, 2017 a hijacked a beer truck was driven into pedestrians at a busy shopping area in the Swedish capital, killing five people and injuring 15.
What has Akilov's confessed to: On April 11, three days after his arrest, Akilov confessed to carrying out the attack. According to his lawyer, Johan Erikkson, said Akilov has admitted "to a terrorist crime and accepts therefore that he will be detained." He has been in pretrial detention since his arrest.
What was Uzbekistan's reaction: Uzbekistan said it had warned the West about terror suspect Akilov, saying he was radicalized after moving to Sweden in 2014.
Was Akilov in the country legally: The 39-year-old construction worker faced deportation at the time of the attack and was on the run from authorities over a rejected asylum application.
'Lovefest' vigil in Stockholm after deadly attack
Thousands of people have united in Stockholm in an act of defiance after an attacker rammed a truck into a retail store on a busy shopping street. "Fear shall not reign. Terror cannot win," said the city's mayor.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schreiber
Love united
Some 20,000 people gathered on Sergels Torg plaza on Sunday. The "Lovefest" vigil was a sign of unity against terrorism, two days after a truck attack on a busy pedestrian street which killed four people. "Fear shall not reign. Terror cannot win," Stockholm mayor Karin Wanngard told the crowd, saying terrorism would be defeated with "kindness and openness."
Image: Reuters/TT News Agency
Flower tributes
A police vehicle outside Ahlens department store which was targeted in Friday's attacked was covered in flowers. "I think it's very important to stay strong together against anything that wants to change our society, which is based on democracy," said one Swede who gave her name as Marianne. "We talk, we don't fight."
Image: Reuters/TT News Agency
Love not hate
Among the thousands of people at Sunday's vigil were placards proclaiming love and protesting against terrorism. This one reads: "Love for all - hate toward no one." Another woman in the crowd wearing a headscarf held a sign reading: "We don't respond with fear, we respond with love."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schreiber
A nation in shock
The usually tranquil Scandinavian nation, which prides itself on its openness and tolerance, was deeply shocked by Friday's attack. Linking arms, under flags flying at half-mast, the crowd at Sunday's vigil held a minute's silence for the four victims.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schreiber
Victims remembered
Among the victims were two Swedish nationals. The Foreign Office in London has also confirmed that a British man, 41-year-old Chris Bevington, was among the dead, while the Belgian foreign ministry said a Belgian woman had been killed. Fifteen others were injured, four of whom remain in critical condition.
