The young man appeared on the police radar in late summer 2024. At that time, one could see how an increasingly clear desire to commit a terrorist attack emerged.
An attack with as much damage to human life as possible, says prosecutor Henrik Olin.
According to the prosecutors, it also became increasingly clear that the target selection was narrowing down to the Culture Festival, which was to take place in August 2025.
Around the turn of the year, a preliminary investigation into preparation for a terrorist crime was initiated - and the prosecutors then also decided on a rather unusual measure, that police officers would work undercover.
Undercover police officer
An operator was assigned to approach the man. The operator then gave the impression that he himself was part of violent extremist environments. The contact lasted for approximately six weeks until the 18-year-old was arrested.
They met online, but also had a handful of physical meetings. The two of them ended up going to Stockholm together in early February to scout.
The 18-year-old's thought at this stage was that the police operator would be involved in carrying out the attack, says prosecutor Carl Mellberg.
In order to “gain continued trust,” the operator had a number of weapons with him. The 18-year-old handled them and posed with them in a photo, but the prosecutor emphasizes that they were unusable.
In Stockholm, the 18-year-old also bought ingredients to make explosives and began manufacturing them. However, there was never a finished bomb.
Later that day, the 18-year-old and the operator went to Kungsträdgården to investigate. Shortly afterwards, the man was arrested by the national task force.
Our view is that there was a concrete risk that the 18-year-old could commit a terrorist attack in the name of the Islamic State at the Culture Festival, says Mellberg.
May suffer from disorder
The 18-year-old has been in custody since his arrest on February 11. A minor mental health evaluation has shown that the man may suffer from a serious mental disorder.
When asked if the prosecutors can be sure that they did not provoke the man into concretizing his plans through the undercover operation, Henrik Olin answers:
I am completely confident that the directives I gave were within the framework of what can be done, and the important thing here is not to arouse a criminal will that did not exist in this individual.
The 18-year-old denies the crime.
The prosecutors have not been given an answer as to why the Cultural Festival was the target. It has not been determined exactly how many people could have been injured and killed.
But it is clear that the risk of extensive damage and the loss of several lives had existed, says Olin.
