German-Turkish man convicted of joining ISIL

BERLIN - Associated Press

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A German court has convicted a 23-year-old German-Turkish dual national of membership in a terrorist organization for joining the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to fight in Syria.

The Duesseldorf state court sentenced Kerim Marc B., whose last name wasn’t given in accordance with German privacy laws, to six years and nine months in prison, the dpa news agency reported Oct. 6.

During his trial, the suspect confessed to joining the organization, fighting under the nom de guerre “Abu Zulfikar” and pledging loyalty to the leader.

According to the indictment, the suspect, who was born in Dortmund, joined the jihadist group after traveling to Syria via Turkey in 2013.

He was arrested in Turkey in January and sent back to Germany in March and was taken into custody at Duesseldorf airport.