Syrian-Swede found guilty of preparing suicide attack on Stockholm festival 

STOCKHOLM, Jan 21 (Reuters) - ⁠A Swedish ⁠court ‍on Wednesday sentenced a 19-year-old man to seven years and 10 months in ‍prison for planning an attack on a ​cultural festival in Stockholm on behalf of the Islamic ​State militant group.

The Stockholm District Court said in a statement that the Syrian-Swedish dual national had intended to carry out ​an attack in the city-centre's Kungstradgarden area in August 2025. His sentence included convictions ​for other crimes, including membership of a terrorist organisation.

"Among other things ... ‌he reconnoitred Kungstradgarden and recorded a martyr film that was intended to be published ​after the crime," the ⁠court said.

"The District Court believes the planned terrorist crime could have seriously harmed ‌Sweden," it added.

The man, described by prosecutors as "self-radicalised", denied all the charges against him. He was also ‌found guilty of planning to murder a man in ‌Germany in 2024.

The Stockholm Culture Festival, which was the intended target, drew 2 million visitors over five days last ‍year.

Islamic State, which imposed hardline Islamist rule over millions of people in ⁠Syria and Iraq from 2014 to 2019, is attempting to stage a comeback after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Simon Johnson and Ros Russell)

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