In the middle of the day on August 13 last year, a shooting broke out near Berga church in Linköping. A 41-year-old man, identified as the leader of the so-called Berga network, was hit by the shots and died.
The murder victim was allegedly lured to the location under the impression that a narcotics deal would be carried out.
Similar to an execution
There are many aggravating circumstances surrounding the murder, according to magistrate Sakari Alander.
"It has been preceded by careful planning and taken place in a public place with firearms. The course of events can be likened to a pure execution. The perpetrators have also shown particular ruthlessness by involving a 14-year-old as the perpetrator of the actual murder," he says in a comment.
The boy, who is now 15, has admitted to murdering the man, but was not prosecuted due to his age at the time of the incident.
Instead, eight other people were prosecuted for involvement in the murder - three men and a then 17-year-old boy for murder. The other four men were prosecuted for aiding and abetting murder.
Now, Linköping District Court announces that six of the eight defendants are convicted. Three are convicted of murder and three of aiding and abetting.
Life imprisonment
Two of the men convicted of murder are sentenced to life imprisonment. The third man, who was under 18 at the time of the crime, is sentenced to 7 years and 10 months in prison.
The other three are sentenced for aiding and abetting murder to 15 years and 10 months, 14 years, and 11 years and 10 months in prison, respectively.
Those convicted are linked to another criminal group in Berga, and according to the police's theory, the murder is rooted in an attempt to take over the local narcotics market, writes Corren.
Nine siblings of the murdered man had requested damages in the district court for mental suffering, but were denied because they, according to the court, did not have such a relationship with the brother that they are entitled to it.
