Two refugees have been charged with the brutal murder of a gay man in Sweden.

The alleged attackers are unaccompanied refugees, 16 and 19, from Morocco – where gay sex is a crime.

According to the Expressen newspaper, the two youths followed the man back to his apartment in Bergsjön in June after he offered them food and clothes.

They then beat him to death and wrapped a dead snake around his neck.

Police found the body dressed in women’s clothes, which the deceased’s boyfriend said must have been the work of the assailants as his partner never cross dressed.

The 16-year-old has been charged with hate crime murder, and the 19-year-old has been charged with aiding and abetting a criminal.

A video on the younger boy’s phone shows the man battered and bound, lying on the floor of his apartment while he can be heard shouting anti-gay abuse.

The 16-year-old, whose blood was found on the snake, says he acted in self-defense after the man tried to have sex with him.

‘I am very afraid of snakes, how could I have put it there?’ he asked during police interrogation.