Swedish oil executives on trial over Sudan war crimes

Ian Lundin, former chairman of the Swedish oil company Lundin Oil, is oen of two facing war crimes charges over operations in Sudan © Jonathan NACKSTRAND / AFP

Two executives from a Swedish oil company have gone on trial in Stockholm, accused of complicity in war crimes allegedly committed by the Sudanese authorities more than two decades ago.

Ian Lundin was chief executive of the family firm, Lundin Oil, while Alex Schneiter was vice-president during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

It is alleged that they asked the Sudanese government to secure a region of the country in what is now South Sudan where they wanted to operate, meaning local people were burned out of their villages while others were shot.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011, taking most of the oil fields.

Both Mr Lundin and Mr Schneiter deny the charges, arguing that the prosecution case lacks sufficient evidence.

According to the AFP news agency, the trial is set to be the biggest in Swedish history and follows an investigation that took years and produced an 80,000-page.

Closing arguments are scheduled for February 2026, it reports.

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