An 18-year-old man with both Swedish and Syrian citizenship has admitted in a Stockholm court to planning a terrorist attack on the city’s major summer cultural festival in the name of the Islamic State, according to statements made in court on Tuesday.
Prosecutors say the teen repeatedly pledged allegiance to ISIS, acquired instructions on building explosives, and began assembling bombs intended for use during the Stockholm Culture Festival held across central locations in August.
His lawyer, Johan Åkermark, told AFP that his client pleaded guilty to “preparing a terrorist crime” and “preparing serious crimes (using) flammable and explosive materials,” and also admitted to “training for terrorism,” which concerns the receipt of bomb-making instructions.
The defendant “is also accused, along with a 17-year-old teenager, of attempted murder in Germany in August 2024, an accusation he denies,” Åkermark told AFP. That allegation, prosecutors say, relates to an incident in Eppstein, though information on the incident remains limited.
Swedish prosecutors, cited by Kristianstads Bladet, told the court that preparations for the planned attack took place between August 2024 and February 2025. Investigators placed the suspect under surveillance in the second half of 2024, a move that prosecutor Henrik Olin has previously said “helped prevent a serious terrorist attack in Sweden.” Authorities allege the defendant intended to use weapons or explosives and had purchased a body-worn camera to film the assault. He also recorded what prosecutors described as a “martyr video” intended for later release.
In court, prosecutor Carl Mellberg said the planned act aimed “to instill serious fear in the name of the Islamic State among a population or part of the population in Sweden that does not share the IS ideology.”
According to the Swedish newspaper, much of the prosecution’s evidence comes from an undercover police officer who communicated extensively with the defendant about his plans. Earlier in the trial, the young man admitted to participating in a terrorist organization, in line with the indictment’s claim that he had sworn allegiance to ISIS.
After the guilty pleas were entered on Tuesday, the court moved the hearing behind closed doors. TT news agency reported that Åkermark declined to comment further following the decision.
The 18-year-old has been held in custody since his arrest on Feb. 11. A preliminary psychiatric assessment has suggested he may suffer from a serious mental disorder.
The trial is scheduled to conclude on Nov. 26.
