Latest news with #MuathAlKasasbeh
Telegraph
31-07-2025
- Telegraph
Islamic State terrorist jailed for life after pilot burned to death
An Islamic State [IS] terrorist has been handed a life sentence for his role in burning a Jordanian pilot to death inside a cage in Syria. 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.
The National
31-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
ISIS Swede convicted for role in 2015 killing of Jordanian pilot
A Swedish man was convicted and sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for his role in the 2015 killing of a Jordanian pilot by ISIS, Swedish media reported. The 26-year-old Jordanian, First Lt Muath Al Kasasbeh, was taken captive after his F-16 fighter jet crashed near the extremists' de facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria. He was put in a cage that was then set on fire in early 2015. Swedish prosecutors said Osama Krayem, 32, travelled to Syria in September 2014 to fight for ISIS. Armed and masked, Krayem was among those who forced Lt Al Kasasbeh into the cage, the court heard. The pilot died when the cage was set ablaze. Krayem, who was born in Sweden to a Palestinian mother and a Syrian father, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, Swedish news agency TT reported. He was indicted by Swedish prosecutors in May on suspicion of committing serious war crimes and terrorist crimes in Syria. He was previously convicted in France and Brussels for deadly ISIS attacks in those countries. Prosecutors in Belgium had described him as unrepentant. The airman became the first known foreign military pilot to fall into the militants' hands after the US-led international coalition began its aerial campaign against ISIS in Syria and Iraq in 2014. Jordan, a close US ally, was a member of the coalition and the pilot's killing appeared aimed at pressuring the government of Jordan to leave the alliance. In a 20-minute video released in 2015, purportedly showing the killing of Lt Al Kasasbeh, he displayed signs of having been beaten. He was shown wearing an orange jumpsuit and standing in a cage outdoors as a masked militant ignites a line of fuel leading to it. The footage, widely released as part of the militant group's propaganda, sparked outrage and demonstrations in Jordan. In 2022, Krayem was among 20 men convicted by a special terrorism court in Paris for involvement in a wave of ISIS attacks in the French capital in 2015, targeting the Bataclan theatre, Paris cafes and the Stade de France. The assaults killed 130 people and injured hundreds. Krayem was sentenced to 30 years in prison, for charges including complicity to terrorist murder. French media reported that France agreed in March to turn Krayem over to Sweden for the investigation and trial. In 2023, a Belgian court sentenced Krayem, among others, to life in prison on charges of terrorist murder in connection with 2016 suicide bombings that killed 32 people and wounded hundreds at Brussels Airport and a busy subway station in the country's deadliest peacetime attack. Both the Paris and Brussels attacks were linked to the same ISIS network.
The National
04-06-2025
- General
- The National
Sweden tries ISIS member over Jordanian pilot burned to death in Syria
A convicted Swedish extremist went on trial in Stockholm on Wednesday accused of war crimes for his role in the 2014 killing of a Jordanian pilot who was burnt alive in Syria. The case is considered unique as the others involved in the brutal killing, which sparked international outrage at the time, are presumed dead, the Swedish prosecutor Henrik Olin said as the trial began. Osama Krayem, a 32-year-old Swede, is already serving long prison sentences for his roles in the Paris and Brussels attacks in 2015 and 2016. He now faces charges of "serious war crimes and terrorist crimes" for his alleged participation in the killing of the Jordanian pilot. On December 24, 2014, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria. Jordan was participating in the US-led coalition's strikes against ISIS positions in Syria. The pilot was captured the same day by fighters from the ISIS group near the central city of Raqqa and he was burnt alive in a cage sometime before February 3, 2015, when a video of the gruesome killing was published, according to the prosecution. The propaganda video was one of the first such videos released by ISIS. "Osama Krayem, together and in agreement with other perpetrators belonging to ISIS, killed Muath Al Kasasbeh," the prosecutor Reena Devgun told the court on Wednesday. "Osama Krayem, in uniform and armed, guarded and led the victim Muath Al Kasasbeh to a metal cage, where the latter was then locked up. One of the co-perpetrators then set fire to Muath Al Kasasbeh, who had no possibility to defend himself or call for help," Mr Devgun said. Mr Krayem, wearing a dark blue shirt and with a thick beard and long, loose dark hair, had his back to the handful of spectators who followed Wednesday's proceedings behind a glass wall in the high-security courtroom in Stockholm's district court. He appeared calm as the prosecution laid out the charges, which could result in a life sentence if he is convicted. In the 22-minute video of the killing, the victim is seen walking past several masked IS fighters, including Mr Krayem, according to prosecutors. The pilot is then seen being locked in the cage and praying as he is set on fire. Prosecutors have been unable to determine the exact date of the murder but the investigation has identified the location. It was thanks to a scar on the suspect's eyebrow, visible in the video and spotted by Belgian police, that Mr Krayem was identified and the investigation was opened, Mr Devgun said when the charges were announced last week. Other evidence in the case includes conversations on social media, including one in which Mr Krayem asks a person if he has seen a new video "where a man gets fried", according to the investigation, a copy of which has been viewed by AFP. The defendant's lawyer, Petra Eklund, told AFP before the start of the trial 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. Mr Krayem, who is from Malmo in southern Sweden, joined ISIS in Syria in 2014 before returning to Europe in September 2015. He was arrested in Belgium in April 2016. 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 March 2016 bombings at the main airport in Brussels and on the metro system, in which 32 people were killed. Mr Krayem has been temporarily handed over to Sweden for the Stockholm trial, which is scheduled to last until June 26.
Asharq Al-Awsat
27-05-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Sweden Charges Man over 2014 Killing of Jordan Pilot in Syria
Swedish prosecutors pressed charges on Tuesday against a man on suspicion of war crimes and terrorism over the murder of a Jordanian air force pilot who was burned to death in Syria a decade ago. The Swede, named in court documents as Osama Krayem, 32, has previously been convicted of involvement in attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016. The ISIS militant group, which once imposed a reign of terror over millions of people in Syria and Iraq, captured Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh in December 2014 and later published a video of him being burned alive in a cage. The Swedish Prosecution Authority charged Krayem with gross war crimes and terrorism, the indictment showed, Reuters reported. "Krayem, together with and in agreement with other perpetrators belonging to ISIS, killed/deprived Muath al-Kasasbeh of his life," the authority said in the indictment. It said Krayem had forced the pilot to the cage and that he also posed for a camera, knowing the footage would be dispersed as a manifestation of a plan and ideology advocated by ISIS. Krayem has been temporarily transferred to Sweden from France to stand trial at the Stockholm district court. ISIS controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017, and was defeated in its last bastions in Syria in 2019. Under Swedish legislation, courts can try people for crimes against international law committed abroad.
Arab News
27-05-2025
- General
- Arab News
Sweden charges man over 2014 killing of Jordan pilot in Syria
STOCKHOLM: Swedish prosecutors pressed charges on Tuesday against a man on suspicion of war crimes and terrorism over the murder of a Jordanian air force pilot who was burned to death in Syria a decade ago. The Swede, named in court documents as Osama Krayem, 32, has previously been convicted of involvement in attacks in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016. The Daesh militant group, which once imposed a reign of terror over millions of people in Syria and Iraq, captured Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh in December 2014 and later published a video of him being burned alive in a cage. The Swedish Prosecution Authority charged Krayem with gross war crimes and terrorism, the indictment showed. 'Krayem, together with and in agreement with other perpetrators belonging to IS, killed/deprived Muath Al-Kasasbeh of his life,' the authority said in the indictment. It said Krayem had forced the pilot to the cage and that he also posed for a camera, knowing the footage would be dispersed as a manifestation of a plan and ideology advocated by Daesh. Krayem's Swedish lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Krayem has been temporarily transferred to Sweden from France to stand trial at the Stockholm district court. Daesh controlled swathes of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017, and was defeated in its last bastions in Syria in 2019. Under Swedish legislation, courts can try people for crimes against international law committed abroad.
