Sweden hands life sentence to man over 2022 mall murder

A Swedish court on Friday handed a life sentence to a 28-year-old man for masterminding a 2022 gang-related murder, carried out by a teenager in a shopping centre.

On August 19, 2022, a 31-year-old man -- identified as a leader of a criminal gang -- was shot and killed in the middle of the Emporia shopping centre in the southern city of Malmo.

The broad daylight murder occurred only months after the killing of the man's brother.

In September, a 15-year-old boy was convicted of carrying out the shooting, the Malmo district court said in a statement, adding that the boy did not act of his own accord.

On Friday, the court sentenced a 28-year-old man to life for "instigating murder".

It said that the investigation had shown that he had "motive to kill the victim, that he arranged accommodation for the 15-year-old in Malmo ahead of the murder", and that he had been present at the mall at around the time of the shooting.

It also said that he had been linked to the murder weapon and that he had subsequently assumed the victim's leadership role in the "Satudarah Assassins" gang.

Another man was given a 10-year prison sentence for "aiding and abetting murder" for having accompanied the 15-year-old to the shopping centre.

Sweden has struggled with a surge in violence in recent years as rival gangs feud over control of drug markets, with bombings and shootings recorded almost weekly.

In February, the government noted that the annual number of deadly shootings had tripled over the last 10 years and that 2023 saw a record number of bombings.