Ex-IS-member American sentenced to 10 years in prison for record of operation in Syria

Ex-IS-member American sentenced to 10 years in prison for record of operation in Syria
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A naturalized U.S. citizen, Lirim Sylejmani, 49, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for receiving military training from the IS group, NBC News reported.

Prosecutors stated that Sylejmani engaged in at least one battle against U.S.-led forces after entering Syria in 2015.

Born in Kosovo, Sylejmani moved to Chicago about 25 years ago. In November 2015, he and his family traveled to Turkey before crossing into Syria, where he trained with IS recruits. Prosecutors said he was injured in a battle with Syrian forces in June 2016 and was captured with his family in Baghouz, Syria, in February 2019.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras sentenced Sylejmani to prison followed by lifetime supervised release. Prosecutors emphasized that his actions endangered his family by bringing them to a conflict zone to join IS.

Sylejmani’s attorneys argued he is not a committed jihadist and expressed remorse for his actions and the impact on his detained family living in harsh conditions in a Syrian refugee camp.