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| Stockholm Attack Suspect Will Plead Guilty, His Lawyer Says | Stockholm Attack Suspect Will Plead Guilty, His Lawyer Says |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| STOCKHOLM — A 39-year-old Uzbek man who has been held after Sweden’s worst terrorist attack in decades intends to plead guilty, his lawyer said in court on Tuesday. | STOCKHOLM — A 39-year-old Uzbek man who has been held after Sweden’s worst terrorist attack in decades intends to plead guilty, his lawyer said in court on Tuesday. |
| Appearing in public for the first time since his capture, the suspect, Rakhmat Akilov, entered Sweden’s largest secured courtroom, a subterranean space at Stockholm District Court. It was only three-quarters of a mile from Drottninggatan, the pedestrianized street where Mr. Akilov steered a stolen beer truck into a crowd shortly before 3 p.m. Friday, killing four people and injuring 15 others. He was arrested about five hours later, in a suburb north of Stockholm. | Appearing in public for the first time since his capture, the suspect, Rakhmat Akilov, entered Sweden’s largest secured courtroom, a subterranean space at Stockholm District Court. It was only three-quarters of a mile from Drottninggatan, the pedestrianized street where Mr. Akilov steered a stolen beer truck into a crowd shortly before 3 p.m. Friday, killing four people and injuring 15 others. He was arrested about five hours later, in a suburb north of Stockholm. |
| Accompanied by a lawyer and a Russian-language interpreter, Mr. Akilov was led into court by two police officers who gripped a black belt secured around his waist. Mr. Akilov, who is of medium build and has thick salt-and-pepper hair, was hunched over. | Accompanied by a lawyer and a Russian-language interpreter, Mr. Akilov was led into court by two police officers who gripped a black belt secured around his waist. Mr. Akilov, who is of medium build and has thick salt-and-pepper hair, was hunched over. |
| He had a green fleece jacket wrapped around his head, preventing the dozens of journalists on hand from seeing his face, but the judge ordered him to remove it. (He was not handcuffed.) Underneath, he was wearing a pajama-like uniform. | He had a green fleece jacket wrapped around his head, preventing the dozens of journalists on hand from seeing his face, but the judge ordered him to remove it. (He was not handcuffed.) Underneath, he was wearing a pajama-like uniform. |
| Mr. Akilov’s court-appointed defense lawyer, Johan Eriksson, said the defendant “admits to having committed the terrorist crime,” and did not oppose his continued detention. | Mr. Akilov’s court-appointed defense lawyer, Johan Eriksson, said the defendant “admits to having committed the terrorist crime,” and did not oppose his continued detention. |
| The prosecutor, Hans Ihrman, then asked the judge to close the proceedings to the public, and Mr. Eriksson agreed. | The prosecutor, Hans Ihrman, then asked the judge to close the proceedings to the public, and Mr. Eriksson agreed. |
| After reporters were let back in, the judge, Malou Lindblom, announced that she had ordered Mr. Akilov held until May 11, citing the risk that he might disappear, damage evidence or “continue with criminal activity.” He is being held on suspicion of terrorist murder. | After reporters were let back in, the judge, Malou Lindblom, announced that she had ordered Mr. Akilov held until May 11, citing the risk that he might disappear, damage evidence or “continue with criminal activity.” He is being held on suspicion of terrorist murder. |
| Mr. Akilov had asked that a Sunni Muslim lawyer be appointed for him, instead of Mr. Eriksson, arguing that “only a lawyer of this faith could assert his interests in the best way,” but that request was denied. | Mr. Akilov had asked that a Sunni Muslim lawyer be appointed for him, instead of Mr. Eriksson, arguing that “only a lawyer of this faith could assert his interests in the best way,” but that request was denied. |
| Mr. Eriksson has a reputation in the legal profession as a talented litigator who excels at finding technical flaws in police work and who does not shy away from controversial cases. He told reporters at the courthouse that he was prohibited from sharing details from the closed-door hearing. But he said of the defendant, “Our relationship is good.” | Mr. Eriksson has a reputation in the legal profession as a talented litigator who excels at finding technical flaws in police work and who does not shy away from controversial cases. He told reporters at the courthouse that he was prohibited from sharing details from the closed-door hearing. But he said of the defendant, “Our relationship is good.” |
| “He’s pleading guilty,” Mr. Eriksson said. “I’m not allowed to tell anything he said in the court today.” | “He’s pleading guilty,” Mr. Eriksson said. “I’m not allowed to tell anything he said in the court today.” |
| The court had ordered an initial screening to determine whether Mr. Akilov “needs to undergo a more in-depth mental health assessment,” Mr. Eriksson added. | The court had ordered an initial screening to determine whether Mr. Akilov “needs to undergo a more in-depth mental health assessment,” Mr. Eriksson added. |
| Mr. Eriksson said it was important “to uphold democratic principles and that he gets the same defense as anyone else.” | Mr. Eriksson said it was important “to uphold democratic principles and that he gets the same defense as anyone else.” |
| Mr. Akilov, a construction worker, had sought asylum in Sweden, but his application was rejected. Ordered in December to leave the country, he went underground — one of an estimated 12,000 rejected asylum seekers who are on the run in the country. | Mr. Akilov, a construction worker, had sought asylum in Sweden, but his application was rejected. Ordered in December to leave the country, he went underground — one of an estimated 12,000 rejected asylum seekers who are on the run in the country. |
| A nation of 10 million, Sweden took in 244,000 asylum seekers in 2014 and 2015, more per capita than any other country in Europe. | A nation of 10 million, Sweden took in 244,000 asylum seekers in 2014 and 2015, more per capita than any other country in Europe. |
| Sweden mourned the victims of the attacks with a minute of silence on Monday. The dead included two Swedes, Lena Wahlberg, 69, and Ebba Akerlund, 11; a British man, Crispin Bevington, who worked in Stockholm for the music streaming service Spotify; and a Belgian woman, Mailys Dereymaeker, who had been visiting friends. | |
| The girl’s father posted a photograph of Ebba on the wall in the entryway to their apartment building, which is only a few blocks from the site of the attack in Stockholm’s Norrmalm district, which includes the city center. | |
| “My beloved daughter Ebba was 11 years and 10 months,” it said. “Rest in peace.” | |
| Neighbors had placed candles and flowers and cards and small stuffed animals on the floor under the photograph. In interviews, two of the neighbors described the girl as kind and mature. | |
| Jeanette Danielson, 49, who lives in the building, recalled that the father and daughter often played soccer in the building’s courtyard. “If the weather was bad they would play soccer in the basement,” Ms. Danielson said. | |
| “She seemed grown-up,” Ms. Danielson said. “She wasn’t shy. She talked like an adult.” She added: “I saw her last week and I remember thinking how tall she had grown.” | |
| Wiveca Lonnroos, 68, a retired neonatal nurse who also lives in the building, said the neighbors were shattered by the news. | |
| “I saw that the front hall was full of flowers, and I understood,” Ms. Lonnroos said in an interview. “We would say hello in the hallway. She was very sweet. I have known her since she was in a baby carriage. I told her that once and she said, ‘I don’t remember very much of my childhood.’ She was a little precocious.” | |
| Mr. Bevington, known as Chris, had worked at Spotify for more than five years, the company’s chief executive and co-founder, the Swedish entrepreneur Daniel Ek, wrote on Facebook. “I am as deeply saddened and upset as all of you that something like this could happen in Sweden,” he added. | |
| Mr. Bevington’s father, John, told the BBC that Mr. Bevington was “a wonderful husband, son, father, brother and close friend to many.” | |
| Eight people injured in the attack remained hospitalized on Tuesday, two in critical condition. | |
| The truck attack resembled assaults using vehicles in Nice, France, in July; in Berlin in December; and in London last month. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for those three. | The truck attack resembled assaults using vehicles in Nice, France, in July; in Berlin in December; and in London last month. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for those three. |
| Swedish investigators have interviewed 600 people in connection with the assault, and had also held another man besides Mr. Akilov, but that man was released on Tuesday. | Swedish investigators have interviewed 600 people in connection with the assault, and had also held another man besides Mr. Akilov, but that man was released on Tuesday. |
| “According to the prosecutor, the suspicions have weakened, and there is, therefore, no ground to apply for a detention order,” the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement. | “According to the prosecutor, the suspicions have weakened, and there is, therefore, no ground to apply for a detention order,” the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement. |