Five teens to go on trial in Sweden over attempted murder of Iranian dissident

Five teenagers are set to appear in court on Wednesday over the alleged attempted murder of a dissident Iranian researcher, Arvin Khoshnood, in the south of Sweden.

The prosecution says that one of the teenagers rang the doorbell of Khoshnood’s home in the city of Malmo on 2 September last year, armed with a knife.

The researcher’s wife opened the door, and the suspect, 16 at the time, asked her whether her husband was home. Khoshnood, who was present, stayed out of sight and immediately called the police, according to the charge sheet.

The teenager had been recruited via encrypted messaging apps by his co-defendants, with the promise of a payment if he killed Khoshnood, prosecutors say.

They say three of the accused, and a fourth person believed to be the mastermind, whose identity had not yet been established, gave him instructions, provided the knife and negotiated the terms of his “contract” before he took action.

Three of the five teenagers are charged with attempted murder, and the others of complicity.

“These are acts that fall under so-called crime as a service, where young perpetrators in Sweden take on assignments from individuals connected to organised crime,” prosecutor Per-Erik Rinsell said in a statement.

Read more: Euronews