Kurda Bahaalddin H. Saeed H. Saeed

Last modified : 07/11/2023

Country of commission
Country of prosecution
Nationality of the suspect
Iraq
Gender of the suspect
Male
Status of the suspect
Detained
Status of the procedure
Case closed
Alleged crimes / charges
War crimes
Convicted of
War crimes
Verdict / decision
Conviction
Individual / company
Individual
Jurisdictional basis
Universal jurisdiction
Investigation started in
2018
Beginning of the trial
2019
Year of the verdict (First instance) / decision
2019
Year of the verdict (Second instance)
2019
Year of the verdict (Third instance)
2021
Length of the procedure (in years)
1


Facts

Saeed was a soldier in the Iraqi army and fought the Islamic State (ISIS) in Kirkuk, northern Iraq, in 2015. Between February and March 2015, he took several photographs and videos of himself posing with the bodies of enemy fighters, some of whom had been mutilated.

Procedure

In March 2018, the Swedish police arrested Saeed for posting pictures and videos of dead ISIS fighters on Facebook. Since he had a wife and two children in Sweden, the flight risk was considered to be minimal and he was released on bail the next day.

The trial of Kurda Bahaalddin H. Saeed H. Saeed before the Orebro District Court began on 29 January 2019.

On 19 February 2019, the court found Saeed guilty of four counts of the war crime of subjecting protected persons to humiliating or degrading treatment. The court found that the pictures and videos of dead ISIS fighters he had posted on Facebook “were intended to seriously violate personal integrity”. He was sentenced to 15-months’ imprisonment.

On 24 September 2019, the Göta Court of Appeal uphold the ruling of the District Court but reduced the sentence to one year imprisonment.

On 5 May 2021, the Supreme Court confirmed the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

Last modified : 07/11/2023

Country of commission
Country of prosecution
Nationality of the suspect
Iraq
Gender of the suspect
Male
Status of the suspect
Detained
Status of the procedure
Case closed
Alleged crimes / charges
War crimes
Convicted of
War crimes
Verdict / decision
Conviction
Individual / company
Individual
Jurisdictional basis
Universal jurisdiction
Investigation started in
2018
Beginning of the trial
2019
Year of the verdict (First instance) / decision
2019
Year of the verdict (Second instance)
2019
Year of the verdict (Third instance)
2021
Length of the procedure (in years)
1