Five men in Berlin have been sentenced to suspended sentences for supporting terrorist organizations abroad.
According to the Supreme Court, the 36 to 52-year-old men were active in the Salafist scene in Berlin in 2013 and 2014. They supported the armed struggle of the terrorist organization Junud al-Sham operating in Syria and the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). The court imposed prison sentences of between two years and one year and four months, which were suspended. The accused, who had no previous convictions – four Turks and one German – had previously confessed.
The judgment, which is not yet final, was preceded by talks between the parties involved in the process. In the event of a confession, the court had promised an agreement that could speed up the proceedings and reduce the sentence.
Some of the men were founding members or functionaries of the mosque association “Fussilet 33”, which has since been banned. The prayer rooms there were considered a meeting place for violent Islamists. The Islamist assassin from the Berlin Christmas market, Anis Amri, also regularly visited the association. The Islamist terrorist drove a truck into the Christmas market on December 19, 2016. 13 people died as a result of the attack and more than 100 were injured.
In 2017, the Court of Appeal sentenced the former chairman of the mosque association to six years in prison for supporting a terrorist organization abroad. It was said at the time that he was a key figure in the Islamist scene in Berlin. The club’s treasurer was also sentenced to six years in prison.
