Lindgren 'should get life'

Niklas Lindgren, the man who has admitted being the Haga Man serial rapist, should face life in prison, prosecutor Annika Öster argued as his trial ended on Umeå on Thursday.

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Speaking to the press for the first time since the trial began. She said that she had proven everything she had wanted to prove, and that Lindgren should therefore be sent to jail for life for attempting to murder two of the women he raped.

Swedish law, she said, allows for the same punishment for attempted murder as for murder.

"In other words, this means that it is possible to pass a sentence of life imprisonment. I argue that it is a matter of chance that the crimes were not carried out to their conclusion," she said.

"There was a direct intention to take life".

Öster added that she was prepared to appeal if Lindgren was not convicted on all counts.

"It is in the hands of the district court, and it is up to them to make a judgment over the evidence that has been presented. We'll see on 19th July what they make of it. After that, we'll see what happens, and how satisfied the defence and I will be."

Lindgren's defence lawyer Leif Silbersky said that his closing argument was intended to show that the prosecution had not proven that Lindgren had tried to murder the two women. The 33-year old has admitted three rapes and three attempted rapes. Silbersky accepted that his client should be jailed.

Silbersky said that Lindgren's prison sentence should be combined with treatment. He did not say how long Lindgren should serve.

"I have said that I assume that he will be sent to a prison where he will receive sufficient treatment," he said. He proposed that his client be sent to Skogome jail near Gothenburg or Norrtälje jail.

He said that Lindgren accepted claims for compensation for those crimes he had admitted to, but said he would leave it up to the court to decide how much the compensation should be.

The court will deliver its verdict on July 19th.