[IsraelTimes] Rakhmat Akilov mowed down pedestrians last April, killing 5 and injuring 10; prosecution has demanded a life sentence| If he is jailed for life, how is he to be extradited? |
Rakhmat Akilov
| ...the known wolf and forged documents dealer, whose truck attack harmed considerably fewer than he'd planned because his bomb didn't explode, demonstrating that Allah did not approve. |
Akilov, whose Swedish asylum application had been rejected in 2016, had sworn allegiance to the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling
Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not
reallyMoslems....
terror group on the eve of his assault in one of Europe’s safest cities, though the jihadist group never grabbed credit.
On the afternoon of Friday, April 7, Akilov stole a beer delivery truck and barreled down a bustling pedestrian shopping street, swerving wildly to hit as many people as possible. He was tossed in the clink
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
hours later.
Five people were killed ‐ a British man, a Belgian woman and three Swedes, including an 11-year-old girl.
"Yes, it was Akilov who drove the truck that day," his lawyer Johan Eriksson told the court. "Akilov took the truck ... and drove it the way the prosecutor described. He killed five people and physically injured 10."
The prosecution has requested that he gets a life sentence and is extradited from Sweden.
He has said he wanted to punish Sweden for participating in the international coalition against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria.
Throughout the nearly 10-month probe, Akilov has been cooperative, according to his lawyer and the prosecution.
Three interpreters were at hand during the trial, which is expected to end May 9. A verdict is expected before the summer.
Akilov had said he offered to the Islamic State group to carry out an attack in Stockholm on behalf of the group. It was not clear whether the group had accepted his offer.
Investigators have found internet chat logs with unknown people in which Akilov discussed becoming a martyr and swore allegiance to IS between January 12, 2017, and the attack on April 7, as well as a memory card with "material that can be connected to IS," including execution videos.
The construction worker, who was 39 at the time of the attack, was subject to deportation from Sweden ahead of attack as his asylum application had been rejected.
Akilov had been ordered to leave Sweden in December 2016. Instead, he went underground, eluding authorities’ attempts to track him down. Sweden’s domestic intelligence agency has said it had nothing indicating he was planning an attack.
Security was high Tuesday, with heavily armed coppers and scores of news hounds going through metal detectors before entering the courtroom.