• Such a Day as Today.Olof Palme Case: Sweden closes its open wound
  • The Correspondent's Look: The murder of Olof Palme: case solved?

34 years have passed since the charismatic Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated on one of Stockholm's busiest streets. The crime that shocked Sweden and has plagued that country for so long, is now solved, after the Prosecutor's Office has claimed that the most likely perpetrator is Stig Engström, a publicist who worked for an insurer near the scene of the crime. crime. The investigation of the murder, as confirmed by prosecutors, has been closed permanently.

Engström, who died in 2000, is, according to prosecutors, the author of the crime. The 'Skandia man' - that was the name of the insurer - moved in circles contrary to Palme, had military training, was a member of a shooting club and had access to weapons. He was included as a witness in the initial phase of the investigation, although he was removed months later because he was not considered relevant. His track was reactivated two years ago thanks to a report, which was later followed by a book, by journalist Thomas Pettersson.

The group tasked with investigating the Palme crime had taken DNA samples from Engström's relatives and questioned acquaintances.

On February 28, 1986, Palme had just left the cinema with his wife Lisbet. They were not accompanied by bodyguards because the Prime Minister had insisted on leading a normal life. At almost half past eleven at night, a man approached them from behind, fired several shots, and then disappeared. Palme died at that moment. Since then, an entire country has lived through the trauma of not knowing who had pulled the trigger. Until now.

Palme's death had a huge impact, due to the progressive legacy of the Swedish prime minister who also dared, in the middle of the Cold War, to face the United States and the Soviet Union. Palme was an advocate of the fight against racism and inequality around the world, as well as the architect of the envied Swedish model of the welfare state.

As the newspaper "Aftonbladet" pointed out yesterday, the murder weapon has been found . The revolver that killed Palme has been one of the main mysteries for investigators, who have tried more than 400 different weapons in all these years, although none had been able to connect to the two bullets found at the crime scene and preserved in poor condition. .

Until now, the list of suspects also included the South African intelligence services. Palme, who gave Sweden its own voice in the Cold War, was a great support of Nelson Mandela's African National Congress ; and it is known that, days before his death, infiltrated South African agents attended an "anti-apartheid" conference in Stockholm. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) also appeared on that list, which Sweden included in Palme's time in its list of terrorist organizations after attacks in Stockholm.

The murder investigation has been surrounded by controversy and criticism since its inception . The crime zone was not properly cordoned off, adjacent streets were not blocked or borders were closed, and it took hours to enact a state of alarm. The only one convicted in the case, common criminal Christer Pettersson, against whom a court sentenced him to life in July 1989, was acquitted months later for lack of evidence.

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