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June 14, 2006

Sweden: Three Muslims Jailed For Church Terror Plot

We reported on May 3 that three men began their trial in Sweden, accused of plotting a terror attack against the largest church in Europe, the Livets Ord or "Word of Life". This church, based in Uppsala, was founded by Dr Ulf Elkman and his wife. It has strong links with Israel, having since 1990 encouraged Russian Jews to emigate there, and it has a study center based in Jerusalem.

The three men accused were a 22-year old Iranian named Mehdi, a 19-year old of Bosnian origin from Trelleborg in Skane called Milan, and 25-year old Johan, the son of Swedish professionals from Kramfors, in the north of Sweden.

The trial makes history as it is the first terror trial involving a target based on Swedish soil, and is only the second trial to have happened in Sweden.

Today, according to The Local, all three individuals were jailed today. Frustratingly, the local did not give the individuals' names, but by comparison with information previously printed, we can state fairly clearly who received which sentence.

Mehdi the Iranian and Johan, the convert from Kramfors were handed down sentences of planning the Livets Ord church attack. One of these was given a sentence of three years and six months' jail, and the other received two years for the offence.

Milan, the 19-year old Bosnian was jailed for eight months for planning an unspecisied attack in conjunction with Mehdi and Johan.

Mehdi and Johan were further convicted of attempting a terror act in December last year. Mehdi had already admitted to carrying out an arson attack against an Iraqi polling station in Kista, a suburb of Stockholm.

Johan, who it appears was also involved in this attack, had stayed for three days with Mehdi at his home in the suburb of Varby, Stockholm. He has said to Dagans Nyheter newspaper that he has not become a Muslim convert.

Mehdi had claimed that he had been paid 10,000 kronar (US $1,360) by an election official to carry out the arson attack. He has twice been convicted of importing a "doping preparation" into Sweden, and was sentenced for this in 2005 to four years' imprisonment.

Mehdi met the other two co-accused via an Islamist website, Terrorist Media. He had also formed his own Internet forum, Mujahedon.net. The evidence against the three had been gleaned mostly from their internet conversations and interrogation.

Apart from Johan's meeting with Mehdi, the three had never met together in the flesh, as all their conversations had taken place via the internet.

Under interrogation before the trial, Johan had claimed that it was unlikely that he would have gone ahead with any attacks. He also said to investigators that he and the other two had talked of ways to set fire to the Livets Ord headquarters. They discussed drenching it in petrol, which would then be ignited with fireworks. Alternatively, they planned to smash a window and to throw a petrol bomb into the building.

Today, all three were further convicted of conspiracy to commit terror attacks.

The court said that the attack by Mehdi and Johan on the polling station, and the subsequent plots, were designed "to instil serious fear among the Swedish people and not only among Iraqi voters in Sweden and among Livets Ord followers."

The court said the attacks against Livets Ord, if brought to fruition, would have caused serious damage to Sweden. The court additionally stated that a fundamental part of democracy was to have peaceful and secure election procedures.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at June 14, 2006 8:17 PM

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