German court convicts five members of Islamic terrorists group
A court in Germany on Tuesday, May 31 2022 convicted five men for membership in a local cell of the Islamic State group that received orders from a leading IS figure in Afghanistan.
The Duesseldorf regional court sentenced the Tajik nationals, aged 25 to 34, to lengthy prison terms.
The longest sentence of nine years and six months was handed to Sunatullokh K., whose surname wasn’t released due to German privacy rules. He was also convicted of planning to kill a man who had made critical comments about Islam. The attack was foiled by authorities.
The other individuals, identified as Muhammadali G., Azizjon B., Farhodshoh K., and Komron B., received prison sentences ranging from 44 months to 8.5 years for participation in a terrorist organization, with some of them also convicted of participating in a botched contract assassination in Albania.
Last year, the same court found Ravsan B. guilty of being a member of IS for co-founding the Germa cell and supporting two planned assaults. He was given a seven-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors said the men developed their military abilities in paintball tournaments, where they met “other persons from the Islamist scene” who were in contact with the gunman who killed four people in a November 2020 incident in Vienna. They apparently also obtained parts for a “unconventional” bomb.
The individuals faced jail sentences ranging from four to twelve years, according to federal authorities. Their attorneys had requested that the court acquit them.
