Court convicts three men as accomplices in murder of Swedish rapper C.Gambino

A Swedish court has convicted three men as accomplices in the murder of award-winning hip-hop artist C.Gambino, who was killed last year.

The artist Karar Ali Salem Ramadan, best known as C.Gambino was shot dead in a multistorey car park in June 2024 during a suspected gang-related shooting in Gothenburg, on the country’s west coast.

According to Swedish media, three men, Hassan Rabeie, 22, Vide Atterstam, 20, and Fatjam Vardari, 21 have denied the charges against them.

Rabeie and Vardari were charged with murder or alternatively being accessories to murder, but the Gothenburg District Court said in a statement that the investigation did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were the ones who shot the rapper.

As a result, all three were convicted of accessory to murder.

"The shooting had the character of a pure execution," the court said.

"The crime has its background in a conflict between criminal networks."

Rabeie was sentenced to life in prison, while the other two received prison terms of 15 years and six months and 12 years and six months, respectively.

Rabeie's lawyer, Sina Safashad told Swedish broadcaster SVT her client would appeal against the verdict.

"We note that the district court partly agrees with us because he is not convicted of murder, but aiding and abetting murder should not result in a life sentence," Sina Safashad said. She stated that her client would appeal against the verdict. 

Atterstam’s lawyer called the verdict disappointing but declined to elaborate, while Vardari’s lawyer was not available for comment.

Sweden has faced a wave of gang-related violence for over a decade, although homicide and manslaughter rates declined last year.

The late rapper kept his identity hidden by wearing a mask in public and had a similar alias to that of the U.S. artist Childish Gambino. He died aged 26.

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