A notorious Swedish jihadist is facing trial in Stockholm for his alleged role in one of Islamic State’s most gruesome crimes: the 2015 burning alive of Jordanian pilot Maaz al-Kassasbeh in Syria.
Osama Krayem, a 32-year-old from Malmö, is already serving long sentences for his involvement in the Paris and Brussels terror attacks. Now, Swedish prosecutors accuse him of war crimes and terrorism for helping to kill al-Kassasbeh, whose murder was filmed and distributed in a chilling ISIS propaganda video.
According to prosecutors, Krayem, dressed in uniform and armed, helped lead the pilot to the cage where he was burned alive, unable to defend himself. A scar on Krayem’s eyebrow helped investigators link him to the scene.
Krayem denies taking part in the killing but admits he was present. If convicted, he could face life imprisonment.
The trial is a stark reminder of the brutality of Islamic State’s European recruits—many of whom freely returned to the continent after committing atrocities abroad. For Jordan, a key partner in the West’s anti-ISIS coalition, the murder remains a deep national wound. The pilot’s family has demanded the “harshest penalty” for what they call a crime of “inhuman magnitude.”
