This time it put two and a half years unconditionally. Last year’s suspended sentence was not revoked, and the probationary period was extended to five years. The judgment is not final.
The young man, who only converted to Islam a few years ago, was convicted the previous year after conducting propaganda for the radical Islamist terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS) on his Instagram profile. Among other things, he posted execution videos and calls for armed struggle. Now six heavily armed prison guards brought him into the courtroom, where he did not confess to the new allegations. This time it wasn’t about supporting IS. He only wanted to spread “knowledge about Islam” and “dealt with purely Islamic topics”.
Difficulties with like-minded offenders
The case shows the judicial difficulties that can arise when dealing with criminals of the same opinion. In addition to the suspended sentence, the court ordered probation last year and instructed the 21-year-old to take part in a de-radicalization program. However, the young man often canceled his appointments with the probation officer at short notice. When he appeared, he irritated those with an “extremely conservative worldview,” as the probation officer stated in a report, and statements that the basic democratic order was not effective and should therefore be rejected.
Apparently, the 21-year-old could only be deradicalized to a limited extent. The NGO that was supposed to do this informed the court that the client was trying to circumvent or boycott the program. He refuses to give his mobile number and is “less and less willing to cooperate”.
Obtained IS material after the first conviction
For the time being, this did not have any direct consequences for the 21-year-old. In December 2021, the court formally warned him to comply with the instructions. By then, however, he had already launched a new Instagram profile three months ago, where he dealt with the “excellence of jihad” in a total of 50 posts. He commented on a video showing the destruction of an IS stronghold with the remark “With our actions, we will heal the wounds”. When the law enforcement authorities became aware of these new activities, the 21-year-old was arrested and a house search was carried out. Data carriers with extensive IS propaganda material were found, which – as the prosecutor now emphasized – he had obtained after the previous conviction.
Before a panel of judges, the accused, who has been in custody since February, stated that he had recently stopped dealing with IS: “I thought if it had no connection to IS, it wasn’t forbidden.” Incidentally, there is also a “Jihad of the heart” or a “Jihad of words,” and armed jihad is “a defensive war.”
Source: Nachrichten
