SHARE
COPY LINK

CRIME

Swedish court locks up Vetlanda knife attacker for life

A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to life in jail for attacking seven people in a stabbing spree in the Swedish town of Vetlanda.

Swedish court locks up Vetlanda knife attacker for life
Police officers investigating the knife attack in Vetlanda in March. Photo: Mikael Fritzon/TT

On March 3rd, police received calls about attacks in central Vetlanda, a town of about 13,000 people in the south of Sweden.

Seven men aged 35 to 75 were wounded, and while none died four receiving life threatening injuries.

The accused, Tamim Sultani, had said during the trial that he only remembered three of the attacks, however “he didn’t question what the plaintiffs said of the chain of events”, the court said in a statement.

The man also described his struggle with mental health, and said that the attack had occurred during a particularly distressing period and was triggered by a stranger who denied the existence of god, which had caused him to return home to grab a knife.

None of the victims had any previous connection to the man and were picked seemingly at random, but the court noted in its judgement that he had shown some discrimination, for instance by not attacking a group of schoolgirls.

The trial was briefly paused in early July in order for an assessment of the man’s psychological health, but it found he had not “committed the charges under the influence of a severe psychiatric disorder”.

Despite not being able to fully discern whether he intended to kill the victims, the court found that he had been aware that his attack had the potential to kill them, so the court found him guilty of seven counts of attempted murder.

He was sentenced to pay damages to the victims and was given a life sentence.

A life sentence in Sweden technically has no end date, but after 10 years the prisoner can apply to have their sentence commuted to a timed prison sentence, which is often granted – meaning in practice a life sentence is on average 16 years, according to Sweden’s prison service.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

CRIME

Man charged with forcing 11 people from India into labour in Sweden

The trial of a man who allegedly lured 11 people from India to Sweden on the false promise of work, only to exploit them and force them into labour, is under way.

Man charged with forcing 11 people from India into labour in Sweden

The man is accused of having promised 10 men and one woman from Punjab that he would get them full-time jobs with a monthly salary of around 23,000 kronor in Sweden, if they first paid him 200,000-230,000 kronor, according to charges seen by The Local.

He told them that the fee would cover the cost of work permits and other documents and permits, even though the actual cost was only a fraction of the total sum he demanded.

Once they arrived in Sweden, however, there were no full-time jobs for them. Instead they were allegedly forced to work for the man under poor conditions.

They were completely at his mercy. He controlled where they worked, for whom and to what extent. They risked not having accommodation if they refused. They were dependent on his good will to keep their work and residence permits,” the prosecutor, Anneli Tirud Wallin, told Swedish news agency TT.

According to the charge sheet the plaintiffs were trafficked to Sweden and Portugal and forced to work in the forestry, construction and restaurant industries.

Peter Ataseven, a lawyer representing the 11 plaintiffs, told TT they had paid the man with money they did not have, believing that they would earn it back in Sweden.

They took out loans, liquidated business opportunities, had to sell land and pawn [their possessions], all just to come to Sweden,” said Ataseven.

The accused is also from Punjab but has been a Swedish citizen for years and lives in Södertälje, where most of the forced labour is said to have taken place. He denies the charges.

The trial is set to take place over 20 days between May 23rd and July 4th.

SHOW COMMENTS