Advertisement

Judge hands Isis fighter three-year sentence

AFP/DPA/The Local
AFP/DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Judge hands Isis fighter three-year sentence
The Isis fighter in court in September. Photo: DPA

A German man has been sentenced to three years and nine months in prison on Friday for fighting with Islamic State (Isis) in the first court decision of its kind in Germany.

Advertisement

Kreshnik Berisha, 20, born near the business capital Frankfurt to a family from Kosovo, was found guilty of membership in a foreign terrorist organisation, said presiding judge Thomas Lagebier.

In 2013, Berisha travelled to Syria via Turkey to support Isis in its armed struggle against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

"I saw it as my duty to go to Syria to oppose oppression and tyranny," the bearded man said in a statement read out by his lawyer.

Berisha was tried under juvenile law, which German courts can apply to defendants aged 18 to 21.

During the trial, the man confessed to taking up arms for the Islamic fundamentalist terror group, though he denies that he shot at any people.

He was arrested at Frankfurt airport nearly a year ago upon his return.

Federal prosecutors, the defense and the state security division had agreed on a prison term ranging between three years and three months to four years and three months.

The original charge of planning a crime endangering the state from abroad was dropped. 

Germany's intelligence service believes there are about 550 German nationals who have joined Isis in Syria and Iraq. Of those, 60 have died in suicide attacks or combat and a further 180 have returned to Germany. 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also