Sweden: Life Imprisonment for Extremist in Connection with the Murder of Pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh

A court in Stockholm, Sweden, has sentenced Swedish extremist Osama Krayem to life imprisonment after convicting him of participating in the burning to death of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh in Syria by ISIS.

Judge Anna Liljenberg Gulesio stated in a court press release that "the accused was present at the execution site in military uniform and armed, and agreed to be filmed... He crucially contributed to the victim's death and must be considered a participant in the execution of the acts."

Osama Krayem, a 32-year-old Swedish citizen, was accused of committing "war crimes and serious terrorist crimes in Syria." Al-Kasasbeh was captured after his F-16 fighter jet, belonging to the Royal Jordanian Air Force, was shot down on December 24, 2014, near Raqqa, Syria.

In a brutal video published on February 3, 2015, documenting the execution, pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh was shown wearing orange clothing inside a cage. One of the thirteen militants who appeared in the video set the cage on fire, resulting in al-Kasasbeh's death. It is believed that Osama Krayem had traveled to Syria in September 2014 to fight alongside ISIS.

Krayem had also been previously convicted in France and Brussels for his involvement in deadly ISIS attacks in those countries, confirming his criminal record and links to terrorist organizations.