Mijailo Mijailović
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Mijailo Mijailović (Serbian: Мијаило Мијаиловић; born 6 December 1978) is the self-confessed and convicted assassin of the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Anna Lindh, whom he stabbed on 10 September 2003 at the NK department store in Stockholm. Lindh died early the following day after unsuccessful surgical treatment to try to save her life.
Early life
Mijailo was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 6 December 1978 to Serbian parents from the town of
In 1997, at 18 years old, he stabbed his father and was convicted of
Assassination and conviction
On the afternoon of 10 September 2003, Mijailo Mijailović attacked Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Anna Lindh, while she was shopping in the ladies' department at the NK department store in central Stockholm. Lindh was stabbed in her chest, stomach and arms. The minister was rushed to a hospital and underwent extensive surgery, but died the following morning. Mijailović was able to flee the scene after the crime, but was arrested two weeks later with the help of surveillance photos from the department store.
Swedish newspapers have suggested that Mijailović was released from a
On 6 January 2004, after being presented with the evidence against him, Mijailović confessed to the police that he had stabbed Anna Lindh, without the intention to kill her. He said, "I'm not interested in politics", and "It could have been someone other than Anna Lindh. I have nothing personal against Anna Lindh."[3] The court trial against Mijailović took place from 14 to 17 January 2004. He was found guilty, but the sentencing was postponed to await the recommendations of a psychiatric evaluation ordered by the court.
On 9 March, a report concluded that Mijailović was not considered to be
Mijailović was for some time a citizen of both Serbia and Montenegro and Sweden but after the crime applied to have his Swedish citizenship revoked. His application was granted by the Swedish Migration Agency on 20 September 2004; however, this did not have any effect on the judicial process.
On 2 December 2004, Mijailović was sentenced by the Supreme Court of Sweden to life imprisonment for the killing of Anna Lindh, overruling the appeals court judgement. He has since attempted to have himself relocated to a Serbian prison, expressing fear for his life. As of 2022, these attempts have been without success.[citation needed]
2011 interview
In August 2011 Mijailović gave an interview in the Swedish newspaper Expressen, his first such interview since his arrest, in which he talked about the murder of Lindh.[4][5] Mijailović explains in the interview that the murder was motivated by his hatred of politicians, whom he considered responsible for his hopeless life situation and the fact that he was a "man without a future". Mijailović had met Lindh at the entrance of the NK department store, when Lindh was on her way in. Mijailović recognized her and decided to attack her. He went into the store looking for Lindh on several floors before he finally found her and carried out the attack. He then fled the scene, expecting the police would soon apprehend him.
Mijailović claims not to have been mentally ill at the time.[6] "Feeling bad is not the same as being sick", he explained. The reason that he tried to appear as being mentally ill following his arrest was his belief that life in a psychiatric hospital would be easier than in a prison. Mijailović also revealed in the interview that he had wanted to attack the politician Lars Leijonborg the day before the murder of Lindh , but that he did not have his knife with him at the time.
Mijailović says he now realizes that it was wrong to blame his own failures in life on politicians and that he has caused a lot of sorrow. He declined in the Expressen interview to say anything to Lindh's children, stating that "You can't commit a murder and then just say you are sorry". Mijailović said he realizes that he will spend the rest of his life behind bars being "Sweden's most hated man". In Expressen's article, the prosecutor in the case, Krister Petersson, confirms that the information Mijailović provides in the interview is the same as that he recently gave to investigators. The prosecutor deems Mijailović's new information as credible.
References
- ^ a b c "Svår uppväxt präglade Mijailovic" [Severe upbringing characterized Mijailovic] (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. 10 November 2004. Archived from the original on May 30, 2007.
- ^ Nylén, Susanne (13 January 2004). "Här möter mördaren Lars Leijonborg" [Here the murderer meets Lars Leijonborg]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 7 January 2011.
- ^ "Anna Lindh killer blames 'voices'". BBC News. 14 January 2004. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ Dragic, Marijana; Holmén, Christian (28 August 2011). "Mijailo Mijailovic tells his story - why he killed the swedish foreign minister Anna Lindh". Expressen. Archived from the original on 2011-09-20. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ Dragic, Marijana; Holmén, Christian (28 August 2011). "Mijailovic talar ut: Det är dags att sanningen kommer fram" [Mijailovic speaks out: It is time that the truth emerges]. Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 2011-10-03. Retrieved 26 January 2014.
- ^ Anna Lindh killer 'faked mental illness to get a less severe sentence', The Guardian, 29 August 2011
External links
- BBC Profile: Mijailo Mijailović
- Head photo, published by El Mundo.