Per-Olof Svensson

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Per-Olof Svensson (born August 17, 1968) was a suspect in the assassination of Anna Lindh. He was arrested on September 16, 2003, being suspected primarily because of a sequence from a department store surveillance camera showing a similar man. It was Svensson's estranged father who had his own grievances with Per-Olof who suggested the similarity to the police. Prosecutors dropped their case against Svensson on September 24, and a new suspect, Mijailo Mijailovic, was arrested.

Following the arrest of Svensson, Swedish and international media subjected him to sensationalist journalism. Some turned out to be exaggerated or even outright wrong. However, Svensson does have a long record of mainly less serious crimes, including forgery, fraud, and some violent crimes. He has also consistently evaded personal income tax. For these reasons he was known to the police.

There has further been a pattern of recreational drug use, which got out of hand and lead to drug rehabilitation in Switzerland. Previously he had also been diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Svensson has been living a double life, combining petty crime with moving in affluent circles of the Stockholm nightlife. He frequented well-known clubs under an assumed name ("John Sterland").

Svensson is a keen supporter of the Djurgården soccer team. Friends say that he is a good chess player and has a strong interest in philosophy and history. The libertarian outlook of Bertrand Russell has greatly influenced Svensson.

There have been a number of allegations that appear to be wrong. This includes the suggestion that there was a period when Svensson had connections with small Neo-Nazi groups. His nickname was supposedly Nazi-Per; he was said to have used it on the Internet and some of his friends supposedly referred to him by that name. Further, he was incorrectly rumoured to have been slightly acquainted with Swedish royalty. Also, there is no evidence he has taken part in hooligan activities as part of his support for Djurgården, a Swedish soccer team, as has been claimed.

By a weird twist of fate, shortly in connection to the murder allegations, a short comic in the Swedish comic anthology "Galago" was published. According to the cartoonist, Simon Gärdenfors, he had met Svensson during a stay in Lund, and included him in his comic as a subject of mythomania. In 2005, Simon Gärdenfors has had his book "Lura mig"(Fool Me) published, containing interviews with different people he considers mythomaniacs, and his comments about the media coverage of the event.