32-year-old from Malmö becomes the first in the world to be sentenced for involvement in the terrorist sect's notorious execution. The act is classified as both a serious war crime and a terrorist offense by the Stockholm District Court.
The Jordanian fighter pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh was shot down over Syria during a mission for the global coalition against IS. After the crash, he was taken captive by the terrorist group.
Got wide spread
At some point before February 3, 2015, he was executed by being burned to death in a metal cage in the IS stronghold al-Raqqa. The execution was captured in detail by camera and the 22-minute film got enormous spread in the terrorist group's propaganda.
In the film, 26-year-old Muath al-Kasasbeh was seen passing several armed guards, one of whom could later be identified as Krayem, before he was locked in the cage and set on fire alive. The video was met with disgust worldwide and especially in Jordan, leading to the country stepping up its efforts against IS.
During the trial in Stockholm, the Swede chose not to answer questions, but he has previously stated that he did not know what would happen on the spot.
The District Court, however, believes that he had intent - among other things, based on what was previously known about IS and the elite group he joined, his activities on Facebook and actions afterwards.
Proven intent
"The District Court has considered that the prosecution's evidence speaks with such force for the fact that the accused man has acted intentionally - regarding the execution, filming, dissemination of the film and the intention to instill serious fear in a population or population group that does not share IS ideology - that it is established beyond reasonable doubt that this was the case," says the court's chairman Anna Liljenberg Gullesjö in a comment.
His actions on the spot are sufficient for him to be considered a perpetrator, even if it was someone else who set the fire.
Krayem will also have to pay damages to the pilot's parents and siblings of 80,000 kronor each.
The Swede is already serving a prison sentence for involvement in terrorist acts in Paris in 2015 and Brussels in 2016. When the legal process is completed, the 32-year-old, who was temporarily handed over to Sweden in March, will be returned to France.
Marc Skogelin/TT
Facts: Swede sentenced for IS terror in Brussels and Paris
TT
Osama Krayem is an Islamist and convicted IS terrorist. He was born and raised in Rosengård in Malmö and was previously unpunished, but had, according to the police, ties to criminal circles.
He is said to have been radicalized in a basement mosque and traveled, according to Säpo, as a 22-year-old in the fall of 2014 to Syria along with other Swedes to join IS. There, he is said to have been handpicked for IS elite force Liwa al-Sadiq.
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. 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 in prison for involvement in the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015. He was charged with providing the attackers with weapons and logistical support.
The terrorist attacks are the worst in the country's history during peacetime. 130 people were murdered in several attacks, including outside the football arena Stade de France and in the concert hall Bataclan.
