32-year-old Osama Krayem has already been sentenced to 30 years and life imprisonment for involvement in IS terrorist attacks in Paris 2015 and Brussels 2016.
The new suspicions of grave war crimes and terrorist offenses for which he was arrested in his absence on Tuesday concern events in Syria, where a Jordanian air force plane was shot down on Christmas Eve 2014.
Burned to death
The pilot, First Lieutenant Mu’adh al-Kasasiba, was captured the same day by the Islamic State outside Raqqa. He was later locked in a metal cage and burned to death. The incident was filmed and widely disseminated in IS propaganda.
Osama Krayem was, according to Swedish prosecutors, present at the scene and participated in the execution, "together and in agreement" with others. The crime period is set from Christmas Eve to February 3, 2015.
Belgian media have previously reported that the Swede has admitted to being present, but claimed that it was not he who lit the fire.
During Tuesday's arrest hearing in Stockholm District Court, Krayem's lawyer Petra Eklund stated that he denies the suspicions of grave war crimes and terrorist offenses.
We contest the request for detention, said Eklund in court.
The 32-year-old was nevertheless arrested by Stockholm District Court, suspected on probable grounds of grave war crimes and terrorist offenses.
Gag order
The court also decided on a gag order for the parties, which is why neither the prosecutor nor the lawyer wanted to comment further on the matter after the arrest hearing.
Krayem is currently serving his prison sentence in France and will now be requested to be extradited to Sweden. If the Swede is prosecuted, he will be the first person to be brought to trial for the murder of the pilot.
Osama Krayem has already been sentenced to long prison terms in both France and Belgium for terrorist offenses. In July 2023, he was sentenced by a Belgian court to life imprisonment for, among other things, terrorist murder for his role in the terrorist attacks in Brussels 2016.
32 people were killed when Islamist suicide bombers carried out attacks on Zaventem Airport and the Maelbeek metro station on March 22, 2016.
In 2022, Krayem was also sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment for involvement in the terrorist attacks in Paris 2015. He was prosecuted for providing the attackers with weapons and logistical support.
The terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 are the worst in the country's history during peacetime. 130 people were murdered in several attacks, including outside the Stade de France football stadium and the Bataclan concert hall.
