Reuters: Two "Swedish men" get life sentences for 'terrorist crimes' in Syria

You would think Reuters actually means "Swedish", as in "ethnic Swedes", the descendants of the Vikings. And you would be wrong.

AFP names the two as Hassan al-Mandlawi, 32, and Al-Amin Sultan, 30.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Two Swedish men were sentenced to life in prison on Monday for "terrorist crimes" in Syria in 2013, a Swedish district court said in a statement.

The two men, aged 32 and 30, were convicted of assisting in executions in Syria.

During a search of one of the men's homes, police had found a USB stick containing films showing the killings, the court was told.

In a video shown in court by the prosecutor, masked men stood around three men on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs.

Two of the victims have their throats slit. The head of one is cut off and held up for display. Their captors - including the men identified by the prosecutor as the two Swedes - are seen cheering.

The court argued that since the killings and the video intended to seriously intimidate the population of Syria, the two men's actions should be considered a terrorist crime.

"They didn't hold the knife, but otherwise they were highly involved," prosecutor Agnetha Hildning Qvarnstrom said during the trial.

The court did not name the organization the men fought for but said it was proven that the men sympathized with a regime based on sharia law and the creation of a caliphate.

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