A court in the western city of Dusseldorf has sentenced Nils D. to four years and six months in jail for being a member of a terrorist group. The 25-year-old had admitted being part of an "Islamic State" unit in Syria.
Image: DW/M. Gopalakrishnan
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The court handed down the sentence of four years and six months in jail, citing Nils D.'s membership of terrorist organization "IS".
Nils D., who hails from the western German town of Dinslaken, was a member of the so-called "Lohberger Brigade" in his hometown, which supports "Islamic State" (IS) in Syria.
He was arrested on his return from Syria to Germany last year. He confessed to working for the IS's "secret police," which aims to intimidate the local population and arrest "deserters." His role there involved arresting people and acting as a guard for the group's torture prisons.
After his return he had cooperated with the authorities and provided them with valuable insider knowledge. Before his departure to Syria, the 25-year-old had been a drug addict and delinquent at school, the judge said on Friday.
DW's Manasi Gopalakrishnan was at the Dusseldorf court on Friday.
Nils D. also took part in funding activities for IS in Germany, the court heard.
It was doubtful, however, according to prosecutors and presiding judge Barbara Havliza, whether Nils D. had truly cut ties with IS. Prosecutors had throughout the trial pointed out his callousness and brutality during his time in Syria.
ng/kms (dpa, AFP)
Islamists in Germany
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Image: twitter.com
The Islamist scene
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The 9/11 attacks
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/lno
Suitcase bombers
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Image: AP
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The wife of the leader of the Sauerland cell, Filiz Gelowicz, was also tried in court. Sitting behind a pane of security glass in a Berlin courtroom on November 5, 2010, the 29-year-old admitted to raising money to support the jihad. She was found guilty of aiding terrorism and sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Schwarz
The Frankfurt Airport attack
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Image: picture alliance / dpa
Al Qaeda cell in Düsseldorf
Al Qaeda right in the middle of the Rhineland: Halil S. (center) appeared before the federal court in Karlsruhe on December 9, 2011, accused of belonging to a Düsseldorf terror cell. One of its members was said to have once been a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden. The terror network had planned a large attack in Germany. All four members of the Düsseldorf cell were sentenced to long prison terms.
Image: dapd
The Salafists
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Britta Pedersen
Attempted attack in Bonn
It was supposed to be a demonstration of radical Islamist power: On December 10, 2012 a bomb was left in a blue sports bag at the Bonn train station. A defect in its construction was the only thing that prevented its explosion. Marco G., who grew up in Oldenburg and converted to Islam, was behind the attempted attack.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The 'Sharia Police'
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/O. Berg
Syrian returnees
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Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Boris Roessler
From rapper to jihadi
Denis Cuspert, born to a German father and a Ghanaian mother in Berlin in 1975, is Germany's most famous jihadi in the "Islamic State." Also known as rapper Deso Dog, he has been in Syria since the end of 2012. His mission: radicalize Salafists in Germany. Earlier this month, he was identified in a recent beheading video. The German government would like to put him on the UN's terror list.
