Murderer of Swedish FM Anna Lindh arrested by police

[KantianBurke]

religion of peace? just a nutcase?

[Billthedrill]

BTT. Any idea of motive? Aside from her opposition to the somewhat esoteric Euro conversion she would appear to be the most inoffensive of women. Insanity?

[July 4th]

Wim Duisenberg? Romano Prodi?

[Michael81Dus]

STOCKHOLM, Sweden -- Police say they have arrested a suspect in the stabbing death of Sweden's foreign minister, Anna Lindh.

Authorities did not release the name of the suspect. Earlier Tuesday police issued an arrest warrant for the suspect.

At the time they would not confirm whether the warrant was issued for a man seen in surveillance video recently made public.

"We have indicted a man in absentia. He is suspected of the murder on reasonable grounds," police spokeswoman Agneta Styrwoldt-Alfheim told Reuters Tuesday.

Indicted in absentia means a suspect has been identified by law enforcement authorities but not yet found.

Earlier Tuesday, police said they had completed a profile of the suspect and were circulating it to law enforcement officials in Sweden and abroad. Details of the profile have not been made public.

Lindh was stabbed while shopping in a Stockholm department store last week. A picture of a man seen on the store's surveillance video has been widely distributed.

The man's image matches witness descriptions of Lindh's attacker, police have said. Cameras did not capture the attack.

Police also are trying to find a match for DNA collected from a baseball cap found at the crime scene. They said earlier that no DNA match has so far been found in a national criminal database.

Swedish authorities were unable to collect any of the killer's DNA from a knife used in the attack and have sent the weapon to an overseas laboratory for further analysis, The Associated Press reported.

The Forensic Science Service in Britain confirmed it was aiding the investigation but did not say if it received the knife.

Swedish authorities are under intense pressure from the public and media to make an arrest.

Lindh's death has rekindled memories of the assassination of Prime Minister Olof Palme in Stockholm in 1986. His murder has never been solved.

Last week's killing reawakened concerns about the openness of public figures in Sweden, where it is common to see a prime minister jogging without bodyguards and politicians strolling with their families. (Full story)

The attack also cast a shadow over last weekend's referendum on whether Sweden should adopt the euro.

Voters rejected the single European currency in Sunday's vote by a 14-point margin, 56 to 42 percent, with 2 percent of ballots ruled invalid. (Euro rejected)

Lindh, 46, was stabbed while shopping last Wednesday and died the following day. (Profile)

A mother of two and one of Sweden's most popular politicians, she had been at the forefront of the campaign for a "yes" vote for the euro.

Officials have revealed that Lindh received threatening correspondence after writing an article setting out reasons why she believed the country should replace the krona with the euro.

But police say they do not believe her murder was politically motivated.

[Carry_Okie]

Murderer of Swedish FM Anna Lindh arrested by police

Isn't this person a "murder suspect"? Whatever happened to the assumption of innocence.

[Michael81Dus]

The Swedish policy of information looks strange to me. I cannot understand why there were so many contradicting informations.

[TopQuark]

The picture they previously have shown was of a "Swedish-looking" guy.

[Michael81Dus]

:-) Yeah, of course. He probably isn´t the murderer, the Swedes have failed. No, honestly, that was a misleading headline, he isn´t sentenced yet.

[Grand Old Partisan]

Sweden is not part of the United States, and so has its own legal system.

[Allan]

Isn't this person a "murder suspect"?

Perhaps the trial already has been held and the suspect convicted.

[AmishDude]

Voters rejected the single European currency in Sunday's vote by a 14-point margin, 56 to 42 percent, with 2 percent of ballots ruled invalid. (Euro rejected)

What? WHAT? Why they must be minority voters. Calling the ninth circuit! CALLING THE NINTH CIRCUIT!

[risk]

[Charles Henrickson]

Hej! to the Swedish Ping List.

If anyone would like to be added to the Swedish Ping List, please let me know, either on this thread or by private reply.

[Truth666]

To understand what's going on, keep in mind my previous comments :
Polls were giving a large advance to "NO" voters on the referendum next weekend on joining the euro.
The story has the fingerprint of the murder of Pim Fortuyn and Djindjic. The goal is implementing the totalitarian United States of Europe.
The difference is that in one case was eliminating an obstacle (Fortuyn) and in the other (Djindjic, Lindh) sacrificing one of their own chess pieces.
A few hours later the swedish police claims that the murder was not planned. This is the excuse to explain why they forget to mention key question of the enquire :
Who knew that Lindh was going to that department store ?
As the department store releases a video of the obvious killer, media are ordered to publish the picture with unrecognizable face.

[Dr. Frank fan]

LOL

[Diddle E. Squat]

More like a Swedish-looking Arkansan...

[mountaineer]

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Swedish police issued an arrest warrant Tuesday for a man suspected of killing Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, officials said.

The police later issued a nationwide alert for authorities to be on the lookout for the man, and notified other countries. They said they had completed a profile of Lindh's killer, though no details of the profile were released.

Swedish news agency TT, citing a police source, said the man being sought was 35 and had been convicted of illegally owning a knife, as well as theft and vandalism. TT said the man, whom it didn't identify, spent eight months in jail for aggravated fraud.

The news agency also reported that the man didn't have a permanent home and had been moving around Stockholm. Citing court records, TT said the man claimed to have problems with alcohol and cocaine abuse.

Police spokesman Lars Groenskog declined to comment on the report, but told The Associated Press an arrest warrant had been issued. Officials would not identify the suspect or say if he was the same man filmed by surveillance cameras at the upscale department store where Lindh was stabbed last week.

``I want to stress that just because we have issued an arrest warrant for someone doesn't mean he is the perpetrator,'' he said. ``We need to get a hold of him, and that's why were taking this measure.''

In Finland, investigators said they were examining surveillance footage from several ferries that make daily runs between Sweden and Finland and border police were on the lookout for the suspect.

``We have had a few tips since the weekend and the most important, the hottest ones, we have relayed to the Swedish investigators,'' said Tero Haapala, detective chief superintendent of the National Bureau of Investigation, in Helsinki.

Danish police were also looking for the suspect and Europol and Interpol were alerted.

Groenskog also said police had issued a similar warrant on Thursday for another man, who was later questioned and released.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3155056,00.html

[Eurotwit]

Weird stuff..

The biggest swedish daily Aftonbladet says that the suspect IS the man from the earlier photos.

He is friends with some om the most famours nazis in sweden, and has an extensive police record.

The odd part:

He lately has been bragging about getting some good "consulting" business in Switzerland which involved good money.

Could this have been a job for hire?

[Shermy]

Another article says he was arrested "near Stockholm".

I guess that probably disposes of the idea of a foreign hitman - who would have fled.