COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Swedish prosecutors say a Syrian man has been charged with war crimes for having taken part in the 2012 execution of seven government troops in Syria.

Investigator Kristina Lindehoff Carleson says the conflict then "was a non-international armed conflict between the Syrian government and a number of armed groups."

Lindehoff Carleson says the 46-year-old man had joined rebels in Syria and appeared in a May 2012 video where seven "defenseless" soldiers were executed. It was not immediately clear which rebel group he had joined.

She said Thursday the charge "should in no way been seen as an endorsement of the ongoing conflict in Syria."

The man sought asylum in Sweden in 2013 and has been held in pre-trial custody since March, according to the prosecution.