Swedish Man Sentenced to Life for Role in ISIS Pilot Murder
Swedish Man Sentenced to Life for Role in ISIS Pilot Murder
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A Stockholm district court has sentenced Swedish national Osama Krayem to life imprisonment for his role in the 2015 murder of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh, who was brutally burned alive by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, The Telegraph reported. The verdict, delivered on July 31, 2025, marks the first conviction globally for the infamous killing.
Krayem, 32, was found guilty of serious war crimes and terrorist crimes. Although another individual lit the fire that killed Al-Kasasbeh, the court determined that Krayem’s actions — including guarding the pilot before and during the execution, and leading him to the cage where he was set alight — constituted a decisive contribution to the murder. Judge Anna Liljenberg Gullesjö stated that Krayem “contributed so decisively to the death of the victim that he must be considered a co-perpetrator of the crime.”
Al-Kasasbeh, a Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot, was captured by ISIS in December 2014 after his plane was shot down near Raqqa, Syria. A horrific video of his execution was later released by the militant group in February 2015, sparking international outrage.
Krayem is already serving lengthy sentences for his involvement in other major terrorist attacks in Europe; he received 30 years in France for complicity in the 2015 Paris attacks and a life sentence in Belgium for his role in the 2016 Brussels attacks. The Stockholm court also awarded compensation to the pilot’s parents and siblings. Krayem remained silent throughout the trial, which ran from June 4 to June 26.
