Syrian arrested in Sweden for war crimes

A 45-year-old Syrian man with a Swedish residency permit has been arrested for alleged war crimes in northern Syria, officials said on Tuesday.

Haisam Omar Sakhanh, was arrested on Friday and remanded in custody in Orebro, some 200 kilometres west of Stockholm.

He was detained on Monday night as part of an investigation into acts committed in the province of Idlib but the prosecutor gave no details of the alleged crimes.

The Swedish daily Expressen said he is suspected of having participated in the execution-style murder of seven men in Idlib in April 2012.

A video, originally published by The New York Times in 2013, graphically shows the execution of the men with their hands tied behind their backs. It is alleged that Sakhanh was one of the executioners.

The video, which was also posted by Expressen, shows a man suspected of being Sakhanh holding a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

The men are bent forward on the ground and at the request of a leader, they were executed.

Exiled Syrians stormed the embassy and guards were beaten, according to the newspaper.

Sakhanh was released by police after questioning and then disappeared.