The Scotsman

Stockholm terrorist attacker gets life sentence

- By MARGARET NEIGHBOUR

An Uzbek man who drove a stolen truck into a crowd in Stockholm, killing five people and wounding 14 others, has been convicted of terrorism-related murder and given a life sentence.

Rakmat Akilov had said he wanted to punish Sweden for joining a coalition against Islamic State.

In January, he was charged with terrorism-related murder and attempted murder for the attack with a stolen beer truck on 7 April, 2017.

Briton Chris Bevington, 41, an executive at Swedish music-streaming service Spotify, was among the victims, which also included a Belgian woman and three Swedes, including an 11-year-old girl.

Judge Ragnar Palmkvist said Akilov, 40, was the only suspect in the attack, and that prosecutor Hans Ihrman called him a “security risk to society” during his trial at the Stockholm District Court.

The prosecutio­n had demanded a life sentence, while defence lawyer Johan Eriksson said his client should be given a timelimite­d sentence.

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