Serbia sentences seven for joining, recruiting ISIS fighters
A Serbian court sentenced seven people, three of them in absentia, to up to 11 years in prison for joining ISIS and conspiring to recruit others to fight for the militants in Syria and elsewhere.
Dozens of men from Sandzak, Serbia's predominantly Muslim southwestern region, joined Islamic militants in Syria. Few returned to the Serbia. The Serbian authorities believe most of them either died in combat or have fled from Syria.
The seven people just convicted "for a prolonged period of time conspired to ... collect finances ... recruit and organize trips for themselves and other citizens to join" Islamic State in Syria, according to the sentence made public by the Court of Appeals late on Thursday.
Their sentences ranged from seven-and-a-half years to 11 years in jail. Three remain at large.
In 2007, Serbian police clashed with a group of Islamic militants in the Sandzak area, killing one, but no other attacks have occurred since then. In 2015, Serbia adopted a law that allows prosecution of those who fight in wars abroad.