Mustafa 'Benzema' Alijiburi, a former leading figure in the Foxtrot network, was shot dead on a busy street in Iraq's capital Baghdad in January 2024. A then 19-year-old man from Hudiksvall was arrested as a suspected shooter shortly after the murder, and he was later sentenced to death in an Iraqi court, along with two other Swedes, for involvement in the murder. The Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirms that three Swedish men were sentenced to death in Iraq.
The court in Iraq has now converted the sentences for the convicted from death penalty to life imprisonment, with the local newspaper Hudiksvalls Tidning first reporting on the change. The murder was planned, with the shooter traveling to Iraq shortly before the killing. The convicted accomplices purchased a moped on the day of the murder, handed over a weapon, and showed a picture of the black Mercedes that Mustafa Aljiburi drove to the shooter.
During a traffic jam on a street in Baghdad, the shooter fired shots that hit Mustafa Aljiburi in the head and body, and everything was filmed. The court established that the rival gang leader Ismail Abdo was the commissioner of the murder. The murder was revenge because Benzema allegedly organized the murder of Ismail Abdo's mother in September 2023.
The shooter was promised $5,000, a heavy gold chain, and protection. The Swedish embassy in Baghdad, currently relocated to Stockholm, is in contact with local authorities and has had some contact with the detained individuals in consular matters. UD is in contact with the relatives of the convicted.
Key unknowns remain, including the specific reasons or legal basis for the court's conversion of the sentences from death penalty to life imprisonment. It is also unclear whether the men will be extradited to Sweden to serve their sentences there, and the current status of the legal process in Iraq regarding the convicted individuals has not been confirmed.