Michigan man who fought for ISIS sentenced to 14 years

A Dearborn, Mich., man who was captured in Syria in 2018 while fighting for the Islamic State was sentenced to 14 years in prison Thursday.

In January, after a nine-day trial and four hours of jury deliberation, Ibraheem Musaibli, 33, was convicted of conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and of training with the terror group.

The 14-year sentence is significantly shorter than the 35 years for which the prosecution had asked. The defense asked for the mandatory minimum of 10 years.

Prosecutors said Musaibli abandoned his pregnant wife and family before travelling to Syria in 2015, where he joined the Islamic State. As an ISIS solider, he is accused of going through the terror group’s training program, firing an assault rifle on the battlefield, and fighting against U.S., and coalition forces.

In 2018, Musaibli was captured by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces,

“For his betrayal of our nation and his fellow citizens, he is deserving of a long sentence,” U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a statement.

“To this day, Musaibli has neither taken responsibility for serving ISIS as a foreign fighter nor shown remorse for his actions,” prosecutors said in their sentencing memorandum.

Prosecutors say Musaibli was radicalized watching sermons from U.S.-born extremist Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen in 2011. Al-Awlaki’s 16-year-old son, also a U.S. citizen, was killed in a separate drone strike, which prompted his family to sue the U.S. officials over the deaths.

It is not known how many U.S. citizens fought for the Islamic State but at least nine other people have been charged with supporting the group. At least 27 American foreign fighters have been captured on the battlefield in Syria and Iraq, allegedly while fighting for ISIS.

Source » msn