Swedish court to rule in December on oil execs accused in Sudan war crimes case

A Stockholm court on Thursday wrapped up hearings in the trial of two former oil executives accused of complicity in war crimes over their business dealings during Sudan's second civil war, with a ruling expected in December.

The trial, which is the longest ever in Sweden, opened in September 2023 after more than a decade of investigations that resulted in an 80,000-page report.

A court official told AFP that a ruling was expected toward the end of December.

Ian Lundin of Swednen and Swiss national Alex Schneiter are accused of asking Sudan's government to make its military responsible for security at a Lundin Oil exploration field.

The resulted in aerial bombings, the killing of civilians and burning of entire villages, according to the prosecution.

Lundin was chief executive of his family's firm, now called Orron Energy, from 1998 to 2002. Schneiter was vice president at the time.

In March, the public prosecutor called for a 10-year prison sentence for Lundin and six years for Schneiter.

The prosecution argued that after Lundin Oil struck oil in 1999 at the Block 5A field in what is now South Sudan, the Sudanese military with an allied militia led military operations to take control of the area and create "the necessary preconditions for Lundin Oil's oil exploration".

According to the prosecution, the military seized control of the area by carrying out aerial bombardments from transport planes, shooting civilians from helicopter gunships, abducting civilians, plundering villages and burning crops.

Both men have denied the charges, saying there was no relationship between the company and Sudan's government as claimed by the prosecution.