Three powerful bombs detonated at residential buildings in Hässelby, Linköping, and in Fullerö outside Uppsala within a period of four days in September 2023.
The bombs caused extensive destruction and several people were injured in the explosions. In the explosion in Fullerö on the night of September 28, a young woman was so severely injured that she died.
She became the victim of this bomb, a teacher who had graduated earlier the same year. She was 24 years old when she lost her life, says prosecutor Thomas Bälter.
Denies Murder
This first day of the trial, all eight defendants – men and teenage boys – are present in the security chamber of Attunda District Court. All deny almost everything they are accused of, but a 23-year-old man suspected of involvement in all three crimes admits to placing the bomb that killed the woman.
It is admitted that he, on his own and not in collaboration with others, transported, placed, and detonated the so-called Fullerö bomb at the specified location, says his lawyer Anton Strand.
However, he denies murder because he did not intend to kill, says Strand.
The man has previously admitted to placing the bomb and claimed that he was forced to do so because he was under threat, something he will develop further when he is heard later in court.
Bloody Conflict
The prosecutors spent a significant part of the day describing the internal conflict within Foxtrot, which they believe is the motive behind all three bombs.
The conflict that broke out in 2023 escalated when the mother of Ismail Abdo, a former ally of Foxtrot leader Rawa Majid, was murdered in Uppsala early in September last year, notes Thomas Bälter.
This became the starting point for a particularly violent period, he says, and continues:
From September to mid-October 2023, over 50 serious violent crimes and planned violent crimes can be linked to the conflict.
The investigation shows that all three bombings were directed against Abdo's rival side.
The bomb in Fullerö is believed to have been directed against a relative of Rawa Majid, who lived next door to the 24-year-old woman. At the residence in Hässelby, a woman who could be linked to a close ally of Majid lived – the same man can also be linked to the family that was targeted by the bomb in Linköping.
The trial is expected to continue until mid-October.
September 25, 2023: A suspected pressure cooker bomb detonates in a stairwell of a multi-family house in Hässelby. Several people are injured in the explosion, and the building suffers extensive structural damage.
September 26, 2023: A confirmed pressure cooker bomb explodes in a stairwell of a multi-family house in Ekholmen, Linköping. Two people are injured in the explosion, and the residence suffers extensive damage.
September 28, 2023: A bomb consisting of a microwave oven filled with around 13 kilos of dynamite detonates in a villa area in Fullerö outside Uppsala. The bomb is placed between two villas, and a 24-year-old woman who is sleeping on the ground floor of one of the houses suffers such severe injuries that she dies. The family living in the other house escapes without physical harm.
