Three men charged in Sweden with preparation of IS-linked terrorist crime

Swedish prosecutors on Monday charged three men with preparation of terrorist crime in Sweden in the name of Islamic State (IS), saying the suspects also had links to domestic organised crime in the Nordic country.

In a statement, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said it had also charged the three, and a fourth person, with being members of a terrorist organisation, and that the suspected crimes took place between September 2023 and March 2024.

The four - all Swedish citizens - were detained in March in the Stockholm area following an extensive investigation, police said at the time.

Prosecutors said the three men charged with preparation of terrorist crime had intended to kill or injure others, but did not disclose a specific target in the indictment.

"The aim of the act has been to, in the name of IS, instil fear in a population or population group and/or seriously destabilise or destroy fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures in Sweden," the indictment said.

All four suspects had links to an Islamic organisation in Tyreso near Stockholm, the prosecution agency said, adding that the inquiry also uncovered links to organised crime in Sweden.

"The investigation shows that the terrorist crimes have international links to IS, mainly IS in Somalia," it said.

It said one of the suspects had sworn allegiance to IS and actively searched for underage perpetrators who could carry out attacks.

Sweden's security services, in a separate statement, said the suspects had been arrested to avert a possible attack.