SWEDEN: The man accused of murdering Sweden's foreign minister Anna Lindh goes on trial today. In a police interview last week, Mr Mijailo Mijailovic (25) confessed to the killing, claiming a voice inside his head told him to kill to the popular Swedish minister.
Swedish police submitted their evidence to the courts on Monday including transcripts of their interviews with the accused, which have since been published in the Swedish press.
When asked who he thought the voice inside his head might be, Mr Mijailovic replied: "I think it's Jesus, that he's chosen me." He told police that on September 10th last year he began hearing voices as soon as he caught sight of Ms Lindh in the NK department store.
"I heard the voices coming. They said I should attack her. But I don't know why I did it. I don't remember . . . I had no motive except that I felt very unwell and couldn't cope with the situation and the pressure. I have absolutely nothing against Anna Lindh." Ms Lindh, a 46-year-old mother of two young children, had been widely tipped to be the next Swedish prime minister.
She was stabbed at least six times by her assailant and died of a deep wound to her liver. The police investigation discovered Mr Mijailovic's DNA and Ms Lindh's DNA on the murder weapon, a knife. Mr Mijailovic's trousers were also discovered in a forest about 20 miles south of Stockholm, upon which Ms Lindh's blood was also discovered as well as Mr Mijailovic's fingerprints.
Further forensic evidence made the case against Mr Mijailovic very strong. His confession has now ensured a swift trial, expected to take just three days. The trial will determine the severity of Mr Mijailovic's sentence which could range from 10 years to life imprisonment. The state prosecutor will claim that Mr Mijailovic intended to kill Ms Lindh while Mr Mijailovic's lawyer will argue that the murder was unplanned. If found that Mr Mijailovic did not intend killing Ms Lindh he can be convicted for the lesser charge of manslaughter.
A key witness in the trial is Ms Lindh's close friend, Ms Eva Franchell, who was shopping with Ms Lindh in the NK department store at the time of the attack. In her witness statement, she told police she was certain that Mr Mijailovic intended Ms Lindh to be his victim. "If he wanted to just stab someone, then he would have stabbed me because I was standing closer to him," said Ms Franchell.
There is a possibility that Mr Mijailovic will escape prison entirely if it is judged that he is insane and that his mentally disturbed state caused the killing. If so, he will be taken into psychiatric care.
Born in Sweden to Serbian immigrant parents, Mr Mijailovic has a history of mental illness. He almost stabbed his father to death when he was 17-years-old and has threatened to kill two other people on separate occasions.