Lindh's killer 'is mentally ill'

Mijailovic said he carried out attack because of "voices in his head"

A man jailed for life for murdering Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh is mentally ill and needs psychiatric treatment, health officials say.

Mijailo Mijailovic was sentenced in March for knifing Ms Lindh in a Stockholm department store last year. She died in hospital one day later.

Now a group of court-appointed experts have said he should be transferred to a closed psychiatric ward.

The findings come as an appeal court is due to review his sentence on 28 June.

Mijailovic admitted stabbing Ms Lindh on 10 September last year but said he did not mean to kill her.

The 25-year-old Swede had said he carried out the attack because of "voices in his head".

His lawyers had sought a manslaughter verdict and psychiatric care for him, but psychiatric tests declared he was sane when he carried out the attack.

Shocking murder

A review of this initial assessment by a group of six experts from the National Board of Health and Welfare has now concluded that Mijailovic is suffering from a borderline personality disorder.

Mijailovic was convicted in March and his lawyers filed an appeal the following month.

If the appeal court accepts the new findings, he could be transferred to a secure hospital and could, in theory, be released within two years if he recovers from his illness.

Ms Lindh's murder shocked Sweden. She had been tipped as a possible future prime minister and her death came as she helped campaign for a "yes" vote in Sweden's euro membership referendum.

Initial reports of the attack suggested she was not badly hurt, but doctors found severe internal injuries and could not save her despite an all-night battle.