STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Showing little emotion, Mijailo Mijailovic told a court Wednesday that he didn't want to stab Foreign Minister Anna Lindh to death, but he "couldn't resist" the voices in his head telling him to kill her.

As the murder trial began amid tight security, the 25-year-old Swede of Yugoslav origin said he was innocent of premeditated murder and his lawyer, Peter Althin, called for the charge to be downgraded to manslaughter.

"I am really sorry for what happened," Mijailovic said when he was questioned by prosecutors. "She was a nice person. It wasn't meant to be like this."

Dressed in a black sweater, with shortly cropped hair and beard, Mijailovic's spoke with a firm, monotone voice, except for occasional outbursts when prosecutors pressed him on details surrounding the Sept. 10 attack at an upscale Stockholm department store.

Prosecutors displayed surveillance pictures of his movements inside the building, switching floors and pacing back and forth, in an attempt to show he briefly stalked Lindh before stabbing her 10 times in her chest, stomach and arms with a craftsman's knife.

She died the next morning after doctors worked through the night to try and save her.

Mijailovic said he "trotted around" aimlessly and wasn't planning to attack anyone until voices, speaking to him in Serbian, told him to stab Lindh, whom he spotted shopping for clothes on the first floor.

"I couldn't resist the voices," he said. He said he couldn't remember details of the actual attack.

Mijailovic showed little emotion, swiveling his chair as he faced questions from prosecutors, his lawyer, a panel of two judges and three politically appointed jurors, which ultimately will decide his fate.

The court approved Mijailovic's request to prevent about 100 journalists and other observers crammed inside the court room from recording his remarks.

Althin said that Mijailovic was taking some anti-depressants at the time and that it may have contributed to his confusion at the time of the Lindh's stabbing.

After the hearing, Althin blamed the attack on Sweden's psychiatric system, saying his Mijailovic never got the help he wanted and deserved.

"We're all responsible for our actions, but part of the blame is on the broken psychiatric care (system)," Althin said, adding that Mijailovic had not been treated properly for anxiety and paranoia.

Althin is expected to request a psychiatric screening of Mijailovic when the trial ends on Monday. If the judges rule he is suffering from a severe mental illness, Mijailovic, would be sentenced to psychiatric care instead of prison.

He has history of mental problems and three previous convictions, including one for a 1996 stabbing attack on his father, who survived.

A psychiatric evaluation during that trial found Mijailovic "in great need of psychiatric and psychotherapeutic efforts," but said there were no medical grounds to sentence him to psychiatric care.

Although Mijailovic confessed to the attack a week before the trial, prosecutors presented DNA evidence linking him to the murder weapon. The chance of the DNA belonging to someone else was one in 16 million they said, citing British experts who analyzed the knife.

Lindh's blood was also found on the clothes Mijailovic wore during the attack, which police found hidden in a wooden area south of Stockholm.

Mijailovic's confession, however, came as a great relief to many Swedes, still haunted by the unsolved murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986. He was killed by an unknown gunman while he was walking home with his wife.

Mijailovic's trial was set to resume Thursday, with testimony from three witnesses: Lindh's friend Eva Franchell, who was with her during the attack, the coroner who did Lindh's autopsy, and a British forensic expert who analyzed the knife.

The court will also consider a request for $35,000 in damages for emotional distress suffered by Lindh's husband, Bo Holmberg, and their two sons as a result of the murder.

If convicted of murder and deemed mentally competent, Mijailovic could be sentenced to life in prison.

Lindh background I posted on another thread earlier today:

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http://www.boycottisraeligoods.org/modules51450.php

Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh announced that she will boycott Israeli products available in the Swedish market, especially citrus fruits and avocadoes.

Speaking to Swedish television on Friday, April 19, Lindh said, If I am unable to influence my government's policy to boycott Israel, I can at least personally boycott their products. She called on Swedish nationals to boycott Israeli products in the light of the recent massacres committed by the Israeli army in the Palestinian territories. Lindh is a member of the ruling Social Democratic Party and has been sympathetic with Arab issues along with other members of the Swedish government, such as former Foreign Minister Stein Anderson, a personal friend of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. She had in the past asked the European Union to suspend its relations with Israel as a way of denouncing the occupation forces practices against the Palestinian civilian population. Meanwhile, the Palestinian minister for international cooperation Nabil Shaath was visiting Stockholm on Friday and met with Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson who promised to donate 350 million Swedish Corona (nearly $ 35 million) to rebuild Jenin and nearby areas destroyed by Israeli aggression. Persson promised to increase the sum soon. Shaath also met with Lindh who expressed her shock at recent events in the Palestinian territories and promised to do her best to help the Palestinian people. Besides government officials, Swedish nationals have also been sympathizing with the Palestinian cause, many of them wearing badges that said "boycott Israel". The streets of Stockholm on Thursday witnessed demonstrations were banners were raised calling hawkish Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon a mass murderer, and other saying "Bush is a killer" and "Zionism is Fascism". Jews in Sweden have also held counter demonstrations and a few conflicts rose between both sides that was stopped through police intervention. In the Swedish city of Obsala on Friday, a silent demonstration was held with demonstrators wearing black and carrying candles. The increasing number of Swedes participating in anti-Israeli demonstrations has been noticeable and has forced the Palestinian Issue to be featured on the agenda of the Swedish Legislative elections which will be held on September 2002.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1040054,00.html

She became a member of parliament in 1982, and rose quickly through the party ranks. As chairman of the party's youth league (Swedish Social Democratic Youth) from 1984-1990, she was known as the "blonde girl who protested against the environment sins" of major companies. (mmm hmmm.)

Ms Lindh gained a reputation as a fierce and dedicated proponent of human rights. During Sweden's EU presidency she described the US president, George Bush, as a "lone ranger" for his decision to invade Iraq without UN approval. (the proponent of human rights who would have preferred that Saddam continue planting Iraqis in mass graves and feeding them feet-first to plastic shredders. mmm hmm.)

She was also an outspoken critic of Israeli policy under Ariel Sharon. In the same interview, given to the Times of India, she said it made "no sense to have a dialogue with Sharon's government". (But she met regularly with Palestinian terrorists. Must be that human rights imperative again?)

She added: "Our stand is firm and clear: Israeli settlements on the West Bank must go; there must be a Palestinian state; Israel must vacate occupied areas on the West Bank and Gaza Strip; and end all extra-territorial executions and attacks on Palestinians. This should be done immediately." (A EUropean in favor of ethnic cleansing Jews from their homes. What a novelty.)

More recently, she had focused her talents on persuading Swedes to accept the euro. Her popularity with voters was expected to help swing the vote and led one paper to crown her the "Yes Queen". But despite her efforts, the latest opinion polls indicated the majority were still likely to vote no in Sunday's referendum. (Read: Most Swedes are smarter than she was.)

Bilden Mijailovic vägrar kommentera

Frågorna han inte svarade på

Har du sett bilden (som togs vid Lars Leijonborgs torgmöte utanför Åhlens dagen före mordet)?

Är det du på bilden?

Rösten som styrde dig: varför lydde du den?

När slutade du höra den?

Berättade du om vad du gjort för din kvinnliga bekant?

Dina läkare som du träffade efter dådet: berättade du för dem?

Poliserna som hämtade dig: berättade du för dem?

Varför har du inte erkänt under de 14 förhör som hållits?

Svarade inte på åklagarens frågor om folkpartiets torgmöte

Mijailo Mijailovic vägrade svara när kompletterande förhör hölls med honom i dag.
  Åklagaren hade bland annat frågor om den bild som togs vid folkpartiets torgmöte i Stockholm city dagen före mordet.
  Men Mijailovic teg:
  – Jag tänker inte svara på några frågor, sa han.

   I rättssalen och i flera polisförhör har Mijailo Mijailovic sagt sig vara helt opolitisk.
  – Jag är inte intresserad av politik, säger han.
  Men Aftonbladet och Svenska Dagbladet kunde i tisdags publicera en unik bild på Mijailo Mijailovics. Han besöker – dagen före mordet – ett av folkpartiets torgmöten inför EMU-valet.
  Till synes intresserad står Mijailo Mijailovic och tittar rakt på Lars Leijonborg utanför varuhuset Åhléns i centrala Stockholm. Och åklagarna är nu mycket intresserade av bilden.

Ville ha svar om bilden
  I går fick åklagarna Agneta Blidberg och Krister Petersson tillgång till bilden. Och i dag ville de ha svar på frågor om denna av Mijailo Mijailovic.
  Tidigt under rättegången förvarnade de om att nya frågor skulle ställas och Mijailo Mijailovic hade bestämt sig när de kom.
  – Jag vill inte. Jag tänker inte svara på några frågor, sa Mijailo Mijailovic.
  Sedan satt han tyst, medan åklagare Krister Petersson ställde sina frågor. Den första var:
Har du sett bilderna?
  – (Tystnad).
De är enligt uppgift tagna från folkpartiets möte utanför Åhléns den 9 september. Är det du på bilderna?
  – (Tystnad).
  Först när frågorna kom att handla om hans vård och familjerelationer började han svara på tilltal:
Vad har du för relation med din pappa? (Som Mijailovic knivhögg när han var 17 år.)
  – Vi brukar inte prata så mycket.
Är ni ovänner?
  – Nej.
Hur är relationen med din mor?
  – Den är mycket bra.
  Frågorna kom därefter att handla en del om hans framtidsplaner precis innan han frihetsberövades:
  – Jag hade inga, jag mådde bara dåligt.
  De kompletterande frågorna var relativt få, och förhöret avslutades efter cirka tio minuter.

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Bilden Mijailovic vägrar kommentera

Frågorna han inte svarade på

"Jag körde Mijailovic"