Photo: freepik.com
A 31-year-old Tajik citizen, Abdusamad A., has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison by a court in Rotterdam for recruiting fighters for the Islamic State* (ISIS) to carry out terrorist attacks in several countries, including the Netherlands, according to NL Times.
Prosecutors said Abdusamad A. maintained contact with the ISIS affiliate Wilayat Khorasan* and actively recruited new members. He was arrested in July 2023 in the city of Eindhoven along with his wife, a citizen of Kyrgyzstan. She was acquitted in 2024 and has since divorced him.
During a covert operation by Dutch police, Abdusamad A. reportedly pledged allegiance to ISIS. In court, he denied any affiliation with the group and claimed he had only done so to create a certain impression. The court found that he operated as part of a broader criminal network with ties to Germany, where seven individuals were arrested in July 2023 on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack.
Investigators also determined that Abdusamad A. attempted to join ISIS in Syria in 2016 but was detained by Turkish authorities and deported to Ukraine, where he is believed to have joined a local ISIS cell.
The prosecution had sought the maximum sentence of eight years. The defense attorney argued that the evidence presented was weak and insufficient to convict his client of membership in a terrorist organization.
The court concluded that although no specific terror plots were uncovered, Abdusamad A. had sought to raise funds for the terrorist group and posed a serious threat to public safety.
In May 2022, five Tajik citizens were sentenced in Germany to between 3.8 and 9.6 years in prison for participating in ISIS activities and planning terrorist attacks. They maintained close ties with jihadists involved in the attacks in Stockholm and Vienna and attempted to organize terrorist acts in Germany and neighboring countries.
ℹ️ Islamic State (ISIS) and Wilayat Khorasan are designated terrorist organizations banned in multiple countries.
