While the victims are trying to leave the war behind them, men they believe were responsible for torture, kidnappings, and murders are alleged to have been granted residence permits in Sweden. Now, revelations by Swedish Radio raise questions about how henchmen of the Assad regime were able to pass through the authorities’ screening process.
Several men suspected of participating in serious abuses during the Syrian civil war are today living freely in Sweden. This is the conclusion of an investigation by Swedish Radio’s investigative program Kaliber in its documentary series The Dictator’s Swedish Warriors.
After examining witness testimonies, police investigations, and social media accounts, Kaliber’s reporters traveled to Syria to collect statements from people who claim to have been victims of crimes and abuses committed by pro-regime militiamen who are now living in Sweden.
According to the investigation, at least 15 former militiamen and soldiers loyal to Bashar al-Assad’s regime have been granted residence permits in Sweden. Several of them are accused of participating in kidnappings, torture, murders, and other abuses against civilians during the war.
Finger Cut Off with a Coca-Cola Can
One episode features “Hani,” who now works as a cook at a nursing home in Sweden. Hani says that the man who tortured him in one of Syria’s prisons—a notorious Syrian intelligence officer—now lives in Sweden.
The officer, Ibrahim, is one of those accused of torturing, raping, and killing countless people—men, women, and children—on behalf of dictator Bashar al-Assad. Hani, who was known in prison as “S3,” describes how Ibrahim subjected him to electric shocks, slashed him with a bayonet, and cut off his index finger using a broken Coca-Cola can.
The injuries have been documented by Sweden’s National Board of Forensic Medicine.
“Evil in Its Purest Form”
Attorney Anna Dahlbom Langley reviewed Hani’s case on behalf of Sweden’s War Crimes Unit. She says the torture allegedly carried out by Ibrahim is the worst she has encountered during her 20 years investigating war crimes.
– Two interpreters withdrew from the assignment because they could not bear listening to these accounts. This is evil in its purest form, Dahlbom Langley told Swedish Radio.
In Damascus, Kaliber’s reporters interviewed Rania, who spent several years imprisoned after demonstrating against the regime. She summarizes her time in prison with five words: Torture. Fear. Hunger. Pain. Rape.
Rania describes one prison guard as particularly ruthless. He raped, tortured, and killed prisoners, and she refers to him as “the prison’s greatest executioner” before recounting how he once poured acid over a female inmate.
The executioner’s name? Ibrahim, the intelligence officer.
Among Syrians living in exile, photographs are now circulating showing Ibrahim sitting on a Swedish park bench drinking soda. Sweden’s Tax Agency has confirmed that the officer resides in Sweden.
Death’s Checkpoint
Another report focuses on the former militia leader Jamal from the heavily war-torn district of Yarmouk in Damascus. Witnesses describe him as a feared figure who allegedly established checkpoints, kidnapped civilians, and demanded ransom payments from their families. Several people detained by the militia leader are said never to have returned.
During the height of the civil war, Jamal reportedly prevented civilians from fleeing the area. During the siege of Yarmouk, 218 people starved to death.
The reporters interview Abu Ali, who describes how residents ate cats and dogs to survive, and how the militia captured and executed anyone attempting to leave the area—including children, who were lured by bags of bread hung in the open before being shot by snipers positioned on rooftops.
One interviewee recounts how his teenage son and two of the boy’s friends were detained by Jamal in 2013. The militia leader then demanded a ransom equivalent to a year’s salary in exchange for the son’s release. The son was eventually freed, but the two friends remain missing.
Two years later, during the 2015–2016 refugee crisis, the militia leader arrived in Sweden. He was arrested while living at a refugee reception center and was later convicted of assaulting a public official after biting a female police officer.
Today, Jamal lives in a medium-sized Swedish city. Social media posts show him enjoying parties on a Swedish beach.
Residence Permit Despite Close Ties to the Dictator
The investigation once again raises questions about how individuals suspected of war crimes have been able to obtain residence permits in Sweden, how such applications are handled by the Swedish Migration Agency, and what possibilities Swedish authorities have to investigate crimes committed far beyond the country’s borders.
Jamal, for example, has been open about his close relationship with dictator Bashar al-Assad, yet he was nevertheless granted a residence permit in Sweden.
Disability Benefits in Sweden, Business Owner in Syria
Several of the 15 identified militiamen have also become Swedish citizens. Most support themselves through Swedish welfare benefits, even though some currently reside in Syria.
During their reporting trip, the journalists visited one former militiaman who receives Swedish disability benefits while simultaneously operating a cigarette shop in Damascus.
Another man, who previously served within the Syrian Air Force Intelligence Service, has completed an internship as a childcare worker at a Swedish preschool.
Strong Reactions
Kaliber’s revelations have sparked strong reactions.
On social media and online discussion forums, many are questioning how people suspected of such serious abuses could have been granted residence permits in Sweden. At the same time, officials interviewed in the series emphasize that allegations and witness testimony are not the same as criminal convictions, and that every case must be examined through proper legal procedures.
– This is very difficult, because these are crimes committed abroad, says Lina Devgun, a development officer for social sustainability at the County Administrative Board of Stockholm.
Devgun has been involved in the Swedish investigation concerning the alleged torturer Ibrahim. However, she declined to confirm whether she is aware that the former intelligence officer is currently living in Sweden.
– I do not wish to comment on that, she says.
Kaliber’s investigation continues in additional episodes, as reporters follow the trail of more men suspected of participating in abuses committed by the Assad regime who are now living their lives in Sweden.