Sweden jihadist jailed for life after Jordan pilot burned alive

Maaz al-Kassasbeh was captured and burned alive in a cage sometime before February 3, 2015. Photo / Getty Images

A Stockholm court has handed down a life term to Swedish jihadist Osama Krayem over the 2015 murder of a Jordanian pilot burned alive by the Islamic State group in Syria.

The Swedish court was the first to try a person over the killing that sparked outrage around the world.

Judge Anna Liljenberg Gullesjo said “the investigation has shown that the defendant was at the execution site, uniformed and armed, and allowed himself to be filmed”.

Although video evidence showed that another man lit the fire, the judge said the “defendant’s actions contributed so significantly to the death of the victim that he should be considered a perpetrator”.

Krayem, who is serving long prison sentences for his role in the Paris and Brussels attacks in 2015 and 2016, was given a life sentence for “serious war crimes and terrorist crimes”.

On December 24, 2014, an aircraft belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force crashed in Syria.

The pilot, Maaz al-Kassasbeh, was captured the same day by IS fighters near the central city of Raqqa and was burned alive in a cage sometime before February 3, 2015, when a slickly-produced video of the gruesome killing was published, according to the prosecution.

Gullesjo said Krayem’s actions consisted of “guarding the victim both before and during the execution and taking him to the cage where he was set alight while still alive”.

The court also awarded compensation to the parents and siblings of the Jordanian pilot, amounting to 80,000 Swedish kronor ($8200) each.

‘Comfort’ for family

Prosecutors have been unable to determine the exact date of the murder, but the investigation has identified the location.

The 32-year-old jihadist remained silent throughout the hearings, which lasted between June 4 and June 26, though segments from interrogations with Krayem conducted during the investigation were read out and played during the trial.

The fact that the defendant did not speak did not “significantly impact the ruling, as the prosecution presented solid evidence, and the investigation was thorough,” Gullesjo told AFP.

According to his lawyer, Krayem insisted he had spent only 15 to 20 minutes on-site, unaware of what was going to happen until he saw the cameras.

“This verdict somewhat comforts the family,” the pilot’s brother Jawdat al-Kassasbeh, who was a civil party to the case, told AFP.

“We thank Sweden and the impartial Swedish judiciary for their efforts in pursuing this case,” the brother added.

He travelled from Jordan for the trial to testify to the pain, still raw, that he shares with his loved ones.

No remorse

The family’s lawyer lamented in court that Krayem showed no empathy or remorse for his actions.

“Most people who witnessed what Maaz went through would undoubtedly need lifelong, or at least long-term, treatment to overcome the trauma that this causes in a normal individual,” Mikael Westerlund told the court.

“Krayem, on the other hand, does not seem to have been traumatised, but inspired. Inspired to continue his terrorist activities, which led him to participate in and then be convicted of terrorist acts in Europe,” Westerlund added.

Krayem, who is from Malmo in southern Sweden, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in France for helping plan the November 2015 Paris attacks and to life imprisonment in Belgium for the 2016 attacks at Brussels’ main airport and metro station.

On March 12, France agreed to hand him over to Sweden for nine months, the time needed for the investigation and trial.

He must be returned to France by December 27 at the latest, the Stockholm court said Thursday.

“Jordanians will always remember this horrible crime,” Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani told AFP.

“This decision is a significant step towards achieving justice.”

- Agence France-Presse