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Sweden Sentences Osama Krayem to Life for Burning Death of Jordanian Pilot

The Stockholm District Court applied universal jurisdiction to punish a former Islamic State fighter for his role in the 2015 execution in Raqqa.

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Henrik Olin, Deputy Chief Prosecutor at the National Unit for Security Cases, and Reena Devgun, Senior Prosecutor at the National Unit against International and Organized Crime, attend a press conference on 27 May 2025 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Swedish Prosecution Authority has indicted Swedish man Osama Krayem, 32, for gross war crimes and terrorism in Syria. TT News Agency/Jonas Ekstromer/via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE - In this courtroom sketch, defendants from left, Mohamed Abrini, Osama Krayem, Salah Abdeslam and Sofiane Ayari look out from a specially designed glass box during the trial for the Brussels attacks, that took place on March 22, 2016, at the Justitia building in Brussels, Dec. 5, 2022. (Petra Urban via AP, File)
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Overview

  • On July 31, the court found 32-year-old Osama Krayem guilty of serious war crimes and terrorism for aiding in the 2015 burning death of pilot Mu’ath al-Kasasbeh in Syria.
  • Judge Anna Liljenberg Gullesjo ruled that Krayem’s armed presence and willingness to be filmed at the execution site made him a principal perpetrator despite not igniting the fire.
  • Swedish prosecutors indicted Krayem in May, and he was transferred from France, where he was serving a 30-year sentence, to face trial in Stockholm.
  • He was previously convicted in France and Belgium for his involvement in Islamic State attacks in Paris in 2015 and Brussels in 2016.
  • Under Swedish law, courts can invoke universal jurisdiction to try individuals for international crimes committed abroad, highlighting cross-border collaboration against IS militants.