Swedish Minister's murder trial set for next week

The trial of the man who has confessed to fatally stabbing Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh last year will start on January 14 after lawyers said they would not seek a pre-trial psychiatric examination.

“I’ve been in touch with prosecutors and the suspect’s lawyer and none of them have said they will request a psychiatric screening. And I will not take such an initiative,” said Chief District Court Judge Goeran Nilsson, who will hear the trial in Stockholm.

But he said it is likely the court will ask for a psychiatric screening after the trial, which is scheduled to for January 14,15 and 19.

Mijailo Mijailovic, 25, confessed on Tuesday to the Sept. 10 attack on Lindh with a knife in a Stockholm department store.

His confession came after nearly four months of denials. His lawyer, Peter Althin, said the attack was random and not politically motivated.