A SWEDISH man with a history of mental health issues was convicted today of “preparing a terror crime” for plotting to murder one of Sweden’s top politicians.

The Gotland district court also convicted Theodor Engstrom, 33, of murder for stabbing to death Sweden’s national coordinator for psychiatric care in early July in broad daylight on the island of Gotland, during an annual week-long gathering of Sweden’s political elite called Almedalen.

Engstrom, who had pleaded guilty to the charges, was sentenced to psychiatric care, after an evaluation determined that he was suffering from severe psychiatric illness both at the time of the crime and during the evaluation.

Prosecutors had charged Engstrom with a “terrorist” act for the murder of 64-year-old psychiatrist Ing-Marie Wieselgren, arguing that it was designed to “instil grave fear among the population or part of the population”.

But the court rejected that argument and found him guilty of murder instead.

After he was arrested for the stabbing, police found indications that he also planned to murder Centre Party leader Annie Loof, who was nearby when the stabbing occurred.

The court said those plans constituted “preparation of a terrorist act”.

“The district court considers that the crime, if it had been executed, could have had serious repercussions and could have harmed the country, and (Engstrom’s) intention was to incite fear among the general public,” judge Per Sundberg said in a statement.

According to media reports, Engstrom was previously active in the neo-Nazi movement NMR. 

Loof, a vehement opponent of the anti-immigration party Sweden Democrats, has long been a target for far-right groups.

In the weeks before the attack, Engstrom had acquired a double-edged knife, two swords and a set of bow and arrows. He also had detailed information of both Wieselgren’s and Loof’s plans and movements at Almedalen. – AFP,  December 6, 2022.