German imam sentenced to prison for helping Islamic State
Abu Walaa, born in Iraq, convinced Germans to fight for the Islamic State, according to the court.
A German court has convicted an imam for sending young people to join the Islamic State (IS).
Abu Walaa was found guilty of supporting and being a member of a terrorist organization. He was sentenced to 10½ years in prison, Germany’s public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported on Wednesday.
Walla was born in Iraq and came to Germany seeking asylum. He and his associates radicalized young people in northern and western Germany and sent them to places where IS was fighting, according to prosecutors. Walaa’s defense demanded an acquittal. Three co-defendants were also sentenced to prison terms between four and eight years, according to Deutsche Welle.
More than 1,000 Germans joined IS in Iraq in Syria and a portion have since returned. In December, Germany also repatriated women and children of IS fighters from the al-Hol camp in Syria.
