Mijailo Mijailović (; born 6 December 1978) is a Swedish convicted murderer who was convicted of stabbing Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Anna Lindh, on 10 September 2003 at the NK department store in Stockholm. Lindh died early the following day after unsuccessful surgical treatment to try to save her life.

Early life

Mijailo was born in Stockholm, Sweden, on 6 December 1978 to Serbian parents from the town of Mladenovac. His parents immigrated to Sweden in the late 1960s as foreign workers. When he was 6 years old, he was sent to live with his paternal grandparents in Serbia, where he went to school. He returned to Sweden when the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

began. He finished school in 1995, with a

grade point average Grading in education is the application of standardized Measurement, measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentage ...

of 3.4 (out of 5.0). He enrolled in Swedish high school but dropped out in the second grade. His school mates remember him as a lone wolf. In 1997, at 18 years old, he stabbed his father and was convicted of

aggravated assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result ...

. His father was an alcoholic, and often assaulted Mijailo's mother and children. In June 1999, he was convicted of holding illegal arms; he had a knife on him. In April, the same year, he threatened a young girl and her mother.

Assassination and conviction

On the afternoon of 10 September 2003, Mijailo Mijailović attacked Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Anna Lindh, while she was shopping in the ladies' department at the NK department store in central Stockholm. Lindh was stabbed in her chest, stomach and arms. The minister was rushed to a hospital and underwent extensive surgery, but died the following morning. Mijailović was able to flee the scene after the crime, but was arrested two weeks later with the help of surveillance photos from the department store. Swedish newspapers have suggested that Mijailović was released from a

mental institution A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with ...

just five days before the killing of Lindh, that he has serious mental problems, and had previously been convicted of violent crimes. His motive was not considered political, although Mijailović shortly after his arrest was identified on a photograph as standing in the front row of a crowd adhering to then– Liberal People's Party chairman Lars Leijonborg delivering a speech. A pamphlet taken from the party's electoral cabin was also retrieved among the belongings he had dumped shortly after the murder. On 6 January 2004, after being presented with the evidence against him, Mijailović confessed to the police that he had stabbed Anna Lindh, without the intention to kill her. He said, "I'm not interested in politics", and "It could have been someone other than Anna Lindh. I have nothing personal against Anna Lindh." The court trial against Mijailović took place from 14 to 17 January 2004. He was found guilty, but the sentencing was postponed to await the recommendations of a psychiatric evaluation ordered by the court. On 9 March, a report concluded that Mijailović was not considered to be

criminally insane The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to a psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act ...

at the time of the assassination, and on 23 March, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. However, on 8 July, an appeals court overturned that sentence after tests had concluded that he was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the killing. As a result of the appeals court decision, Mijailović was taken from prison to a closed psychiatric hospital. Mijailović was for some time a citizen of both

Serbia and Montenegro The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

but after the crime applied to have his Swedish citizenship revoked. His application was granted by the Swedish Migration Agency on 20 September 2004; however, this did not have any effect on the judicial process. On 2 December 2004, Mijailović was sentenced by the

Supreme Court of Sweden The Supreme Court of Sweden (, HD) is the supreme court and the third and final instance in all civil and criminal cases in the Kingdom of Sweden. Before a case can be decided by the Supreme Court, leave to appeal must be obtained, and wit ...

to life imprisonment for the killing of Anna Lindh, overruling the appeals court judgement. He has since attempted to have himself relocated to a Serbian prison, expressing fear for his life. As of 2022, these attempts have been without success.

2011 interview

In August 2011 Mijailović gave an interview in the Swedish newspaper ''

Expressen (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden. Describing itself as independent liberal, was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or " to your rescue". The newspaper awards the cultu ...

'', his first such interview since his arrest, in which he talked about the murder of Lindh. Mijailović explained in the interview that the murder was motivated by his hatred of politicians, whom he considered responsible for his hopeless life situation and the fact that he was a "man without a future". Mijailović had met Lindh at the entrance of the NK department store, when Lindh was on her way in. Mijailović recognized her and decided to attack her. He went into the store looking for Lindh on several floors before he finally found her and carried out the attack. He then fled the scene, expecting the police would soon apprehend him. Mijailović claims not to have been mentally ill at the time. "Feeling bad is not the same as being sick", he explained. The reason that he tried to appear as being mentally ill following his arrest was his belief that life in a psychiatric hospital would be easier than in a prison. Mijailović also revealed in the interview that he had wanted to attack the politician Lars Leijonborg the day before the murder of Lindh , but that he did not have his knife with him at the time. Mijailović says he now realizes that it was wrong to blame his own failures in life on politicians and that he has caused a lot of sorrow.

References

External links

BBC Profile: Mijailo MijailovićHead photo
published by '' El Mundo''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mijailovic, Mijailo 1978 births Living people People from Stockholm People convicted of murder by Sweden Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Sweden Serbian assassins Serbian people convicted of murder Serbian people imprisoned abroad Serbian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Swedish people of Serbian descent Swedish assassins 2003 murders in Sweden