Sweden charges extremist over Jordanian pilot burned to death
Osama Krayem is already serving a 30-year sentence for involvement in the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris. (AFP pic)
STOCKHOLM : Prosecutors have charged a Swedish extremist over the 2014 killing of a Jordanian pilot, who was burned to death in a cage in Syria after being captured by the Islamic State (IS) group.
Osama Krayem, 32, was charged with 'participating in the brutal execution of a pilot' near the city of Raqqa, prosecutor Reena Devgun told a press conference.
Krayem, who is already serving a 30-year sentence for involvement in the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, was charged with 'serious war crimes and terrorist crimes'.
According to prosecutors, who had announced they intended to charge Krayem last week, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria on Dec 24, 2014.
The pilot was captured by IS fighters the same day near the central city of Raqqa, and killed sometime before Feb 3, 2015.
The execution was filmed and a 22-minute video accompanied by a specially composed religious chant was published.
In the video, the victim is seen walking past several masked IS fighters, including Krayem, according to prosecutors.
The pilot is then locked in a cage that is set on fire, leading to his death, Henrik Olin, the other prosecutor in charge of the case, told reporters.
'This bestial murder, in which a prisoner was burned alive in a cage, was staged in a carefully produced video that was broadcast around the world. Its publication marked an unprecedented escalation in the Islamic State group's violent propaganda,' Olin said.
Prosecutors have been unable to determine the exact day of the murder, but the investigation has identified the location where it took place.
'Obligation' to prosecute
The defendant's lawyer, Petra Eklund, told AFP that her client admitted to being present at the scene but disputed the prosecution's version.
'He denies the acts for which he is prosecuted,' she said.
'He acknowledges having been present at that place during the event but claims not to have acted in the manner described by the prosecutors in the account of the facts.'
Krayem, who is from Malmo in southern Sweden, joined the IS group in Syria in 2014 before returning to Europe.
In June 2022, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison in France for helping plan the November 2015 Paris attacks in which 130 people were killed.
The following year, he was given a life sentence in Belgium for participating in the bombings on March 22, 2016, at Brussels' main airport and on the metro system, which killed 32 people.
'Even though this is a person that's already sentenced and is serving very long prison sentences in other countries, we will still charge him and we have an international obligation to do so,' Devgun told AFP.
Krayem has been 'temporarily handed over to Sweden to participate in the trial', which is scheduled to begin on June 4, according to the Swedish prosecution authority.
'It is painful for my parents to be confronted with this event again, but we are grateful that the Swedish authorities want to give us justice,' Jawdat al-Kasasbeh, the pilot's brother, told broadcaster Sveriges Radio.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Malay Mail
Pakistan military chief says troop drawdown underway, warns next conflict with India could hit whole region
Pakistan, India had built up troops along border region during conflict Pakistani general warns of threat of escalation in future Mirza warns there might not be enough time for future international mediation SINGAPORE, May 30 — Pakistan and India are close to reducing the troop build up along their border to levels before conflict erupted between the nuclear-armed neighbours this month, a top Pakistani military official told Reuters on Friday, although he warned the crisis had increased the risk of escalation in the future. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before a ceasefire was announced. The spark for the latest fighting between the old enemies was an April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on 'terrorists' backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. On May 7, India launched missiles at what it said were 'terrorist infrastructure' sites across the border and as Pakistan responded with its own attacks, both countries built up additional forces along the frontier. General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Pakistan's chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said the two militaries had started the process of drawing down troop levels. 'We have almost come back to the pre-22nd April situation... we are approaching that, or we must have approached that by now,' said Mirza, the most senior Pakistani military official to speak publicly since the conflict. India's ministry of defence and the office of the Indian chief of defence staff did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the remarks by Mirza. Mirza, who is in Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue forum, said while there was no move towards nuclear weapons during this conflict, it was a dangerous situation. 'Nothing happened this time,' he said. 'But you can't rule out any strategic miscalculation at any time, because when the crisis is on, the responses are different.' He also said the risk of escalation in the future had increased since the fighting this time was not limited to the disputed territory of Kashmir, the scenic region in the Himalayas that both nations rule in part but claim in full. The two sides attacked military installations in their mainlands but neither has acknowledged any serious damage. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan this month that New Delhi would target 'terrorist hideouts' across the border again if there were new attacks on India. 'Dangerous trend' The two countries have fought three major wars, two of them over Kashmir, and numerous armed skirmishes since both were born out of British colonial India in 1947. India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of Kashmir that began in 1989 and has killed tens of thousands. Pakistan says it provides only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination. 'This (conflict) lowers the threshold between two countries who are contiguous nuclear the future, it will not be restricted to the disputed territory. It would come down to (the) whole of India and (the) whole of Pakistan,' Mirza said. 'This is a very dangerous trend.' Reuters has reported that the rapid escalation of hostilities ended in part because of behind-the-scenes diplomacy involving the U.S., India and Pakistan, and the key role played by Washington in brokering peace. India has denied any third-party role in the ceasefire and said that any engagement between India and Pakistan has to be bilateral. But Mirza warned that international mediation might be difficult in the future because of a lack of crisis management mechanisms between the countries. 'The time window for the international community to intervene would now be very less, and I would say that damage and destruction may take place even before that time window is exploited by the international community,' he said. Pakistan was open to dialogue, he added, but beyond a crisis hotline between the directors general of military operations and some hotlines at the tactical level on the border, there was no other communication between the two countries. India's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday 'talks and terror don't go together' in response to a question on the possibility of dialogue with Pakistan. Mirza said there were no backchannel discussions, or informal talks, to ease tensions. He also said he had no plans to meet General Anil Chauhan, India's chief of defence staff, who is also in Singapore for the Shangri-La forum. 'These issues can only be resolved by dialogue and consultations, on the table. They cannot be resolved on the battlefield,' Mirza said. — Reuters
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
India asks IMF to reconsider Pakistan programme over ‘terror funding'
Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023 but was saved by a US$7 billion bailout from the IMF. (Reuters pic) SRINAGAR : Indian defence minister Rajnath Singh said today the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should reconsider a US$1 billion loan to Pakistan, alleging Islamabad was 'funding terror'. 'I believe a big portion of the US$1 billion coming from IMF will be used for funding terror infrastructure,' Singh told troops at an air force base in western India. 'I believe any economic assistance to Pakistan is nothing less than funding terror'. India and Pakistan last week launched missiles, drones and artillery strikes on each other before a ceasefire that began Saturday. The IMF last week approved a loan programme review for Pakistan, unlocking around US$1 billion in much-needed funds and greenlighting a new US$1.4 billion bailout despite India's objections. India – which also represents Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh on the IMF board – abstained on the review vote, a statement from its finance ministry voicing 'concerns over the efficacy of IMF programmes in the case of Pakistan given its poor track record'. Pakistan came to the brink of default in 2023, as a political crisis compounded an economic downturn and drove the nation's debt burden to terminal levels. It was saved by a US$7 billion bailout from the IMF – its 24th since 1958. Singh claimed it was 'now clear that in Pakistan terrorism and their government are hand in glove with each other'. 'In this situation there is a possibility that their nuclear weapons could get their way into the hands of terrorists. This is a danger not just for Pakistan but the entire world,' he said. Fighting between New Delhi and Islamabad began when India launched strikes on May 7 against what it called 'terrorist camps' in Pakistan following an April attack in Indian-administered Kashmir which killed 26 people. New Delhi blamed Islamabad for backing the rebels it claimed were behind the attack – the deadliest on civilians in Kashmir in decades. Pakistan denies the charge. Four days of intense drone, missile and artillery exchanges ensued, leaving around 70 people, including dozens of civilians, dead on both sides.
Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Pakistan, India close to completing border troop reduction
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan that New Delhi would target 'terrorist hideouts' if there were new attacks on India. (EPA Images pic) SINGAPORE : Pakistan and India are close to reducing the troop build up along their border to levels before conflict erupted between the nuclear-armed neighbours this month, a top Pakistani military official told Reuters today, although he warned the crisis had increased the risk of escalation in the future. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery in four days of clashes, their worst fighting in decades, before a ceasefire was announced. The spark for the latest fighting between the old enemies was an April 22 attack in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 people, most of them tourists. New Delhi blamed the incident on 'terrorists' backed by Pakistan, a charge denied by Islamabad. On May 7, India launched missiles at what it said were 'terrorist infrastructure' sites across the border and as Pakistan responded with its own attacks, both countries built up additional forces along the frontier. General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Pakistan's chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said the two militaries had started the process of drawing down troop levels. 'We have almost come back to the pre-22nd April situation… we are approaching that, or we must have approached that by now,' said Mirza, the most senior Pakistani military official to speak publicly since the conflict. India's ministry of defence and the office of the Indian chief of defence staff did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on the remarks by Mirza. Mirza, who is in Singapore to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue forum, said while there was no move towards nuclear weapons during this conflict, it was a dangerous situation. 'Nothing happened this time,' he said. 'But you can't rule out any strategic miscalculation at any time, because when the crisis is on, the responses are different.' He also said the risk of escalation in the future had increased since the fighting this time was not limited to the disputed territory of Kashmir, the scenic region in the Himalayas that both nations rule in part but claim in full. The two sides attacked military installations in their mainlands but neither has acknowledged any serious damage. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned Pakistan this month that New Delhi would target 'terrorist hideouts' across the border again if there were new attacks on India. 'Dangerous Trend' The two countries have fought three major wars, two of them over Kashmir, and numerous armed skirmishes since both were born out of British colonial India in 1947. India blames Pakistan for an insurgency in its part of Kashmir that began in 1989 and has killed tens of thousands. Pakistan says it provides only moral, political and diplomatic support to Kashmiris seeking self-determination. 'This (conflict) lowers the threshold between two countries who are contiguous nuclear powers…in the future, it will not be restricted to the disputed territory. It would come down to (the) whole of India and (the) whole of Pakistan,' Mirza said. 'This is a very dangerous trend.' Reuters has reported that the rapid escalation of hostilities ended in part because of behind-the-scenes diplomacy involving the US, India and Pakistan, and the key role played by Washington in brokering peace. India has denied any third-party role in the ceasefire and said that any engagement between India and Pakistan has to be bilateral. But Mirza warned that international mediation might be difficult in the future because of a lack of crisis management mechanisms between the countries. 'The time window for the international community to intervene would now be very less, and I would say that damage and destruction may take place even before that time window is exploited by the international community,' he said. Pakistan was open to dialogue, he added, but beyond a crisis hotline between the directors general of military operations and some hotlines at the tactical level on the border, there was no other communication between the two countries. India's foreign ministry spokesman said yesterday 'talks and terror don't go together' in response to a question on the possibility of dialogue with Pakistan. Mirza said there were no backchannel discussions, or informal talks, to ease tensions. He also said he had no plans to meet General Anil Chauhan, India's chief of defence staff, who is also in Singapore for the Shangri-La forum. 'These issues can only be resolved by dialogue and consultations, on the table. They cannot be resolved on the battlefield,' Mirza said.
