Stockholm truck attacker wanted to scare Sweden out of fighting IS






Stockholm - Rakhmat Akilov pledged allegiance to the leader of the Islamic State extremist group shortly before he carried out a deadly truck attack in Stockholm last year that claimed five lives, prosecutors said Tuesday, the first day of Akilov's trial.



 
At the trial's opening, Akilov's lawyer said the 39-year-old had carried out the attack to instil fear and force Sweden to stop its participation in the international coalition against Islamic State.
Akilov - an Uzbek national - admitted to driving a hijacked truck down a busy pedestrian street in central Stockholm on April 7, 2017, and killing five people and injuring 15 others, attorney Johan Eriksson told the Stockholm district court.
Dressed in a green prison-issue fleece sweater, the bearded Akilov sat with his back to the press. His handcuffs were removed whenever he was in the courtroom.
Akilov, the sole suspect in the attack, admitted to terrorist crimes, attempted terrorist crimes and creating a danger for others, Eriksson said.
After reading the charges, prosecutors presented online chat conversations between Akilov and people linked to Islamic State as part of their evidence. They also cited material found on memory cards with speeches and sermons by Islamic State supporters slamming Western-style democracy and images of mass executions.
Shortly before the trial ended Tuesday, the prosecution played one of two recordings retrieved from Akilov's mobile phone in which he pledged allegiance to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
In a chat conversation from March 3, 2017, Akilov wrote: "I want to move and join the [Islamic] State or carry out a martyr operation in Sweden," prosecutor Hans-Jorgen Hanstrom told the court.
Hanstrom also showed some of the 81 photos retrieved from Akilov's mobile phone in which the suspect apparently scouted several locations prior to the attack, including government offices.
The trial was held at the court's security chamber. Reporters and the public sat behind glass and had to pass through security checks.
Deputy chief prosecutor Hans Ihrman said Akilov was also charged with subjecting 150 people to the risk of death or serious injury. Many of the victims sustained permanent injuries such as brain damage, hearing impairments or amputated legs.
Ihrman also read out the name of each of the five fatalities and the most seriously injured victims. "The attack lasted 40 seconds - seconds that changed the lives of many," Ihrman told the court.
"500 metres, 40 seconds, 12.5 tonnes of metal, an average speed of 60 kilometres per hour down, a pedestrian street full of people," he said. "It was an attack on many people's lives. It was also an attack on our society," Ihrman added.
Earlier Tuesday, the prosecution played a recording of a call to the emergency services where an agitated woman said there was need for immediate response, saying "he's mowing down all the people now."
Ihrman said he wanted Akilov to be deported from Sweden after serving a possible sentence. Akilov - a failed asylum seeker - arrived in Sweden in 2014.
The prosecution was Wednesday to continue to present their case. The trial is expected to run until May, with sentencing due in June.

 


Tuesday, February 13th 2018
By Lennart Simonsson,
           


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