The newspaper Dagens ETC reported the death of Swedish criminal Clark Olofsson, who participated in the 1973 bank robbery and hostage-taking that led to the emergence of the "Stockholm syndrome" theory.
Sweden: Death of the criminal involved in the famous robbery and the emergence of the "Stockholm syndrome" theory.
The newspaper reported, quoting his family: "Clark Olofsson died at the age of 78. He was one of Sweden's most notorious and infamous criminals of all time. He died in Arvika Hospital on Tuesday after a long battle with illness."
What is it
What is "Stockholm syndrome," which Israel's supporters accuse released prisoners of suffering from?
Olofsson gained notoriety after his involvement in a bank robbery in Stockholm's Normalmstorg Square in 1973. He was aided in the robbery by his cellmate, Jan-Erik Olsson, who arrived at the bank in the heart of the Swedish capital and attempted to rob it. After the police arrived, Olsson took four bank employees hostage. He demanded three million Swedish kronor and that his cellmate, Olofsson, be brought to him. The two men held the hostages together in the bank vault for six days.
After their release, the hostages defended their captors, refused to testify against them in court, and even raised money to provide legal assistance to Olson and Olofsson.
This case enabled the Swedish psychiatrist and criminologist Nils Bejerot to formulate the concept of "Stockholm syndrome".
During the trial, Olofsson proved that he had not helped Olson, but was trying to rescue the hostages. As a result, all charges against him were dropped and he was released.
