Islamic State terrorist jailed for life after pilot burned to death
Osama Krayem, a Swedish citizen, was convicted by a court in Stockholm of locking fighter pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh inside a cage before it was doused in fuel and set alight in 2015.
Mr al-Kasasbeh's death was filmed and posted online by the Islamic State, which revelled in circulating footage of its most repulsive and sadistic acts at the height of its power in Iraq and Syria.
Krayem, who has already received a life sentence for his roles in the Paris and Brussels attacks of 2015 and 2016, denied any wrongdoing but was found guilty by the Stockholm district court of war crimes.
The Malmo-born terrorist did admit that he was at the location where Mr al-Kasasbeh, who was aged 26 when his F-16 fighter jet was shot down in Syria, was murdered.
Krayem was one of several IS terrorists who carried out the murder of Mr al-Kasasbeh, but Swedish officials say that all of the other perpetrators are most likely dead.
'The District Court has found that the defendant, through his actions, contributed so actively to the death of the pilot that he should be considered a perpetrator,' presiding Judge Anna Liljenberg Gullesjo said during the trial, according to Reuters news agency.
Krayem, 32, was born in Malmo and radicalised online, leaving Sweden at some point in 2014 to join the Islamic State group, according to Swedish reports.
During his time in Syria, he posted a video to his social media of a Palestinian boy from Jerusalem being murdered, which was 'liked' by several friends and relatives back in Malmo.
Using a fake passport, Krayem returned to Europe by posing as a migrant and crossing back into Sweden via Turkey and Greece.
He then played a significant role in planning both the November 2015 Paris attacks and the March 2016 Brussels airport attacks, with his DNA found in apartments used by the other plotters.
A Belgian-led police investigation led to Krayem's arrest and extradition to France, where he was convicted in 2022 and jailed for 30 years over his role in the Paris massacres.
In July 2023, he was also found guilty of participating in the Brussels attacks and was handed a life sentence.
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