US citizen who fought for ISIS in Syria sentenced to 10 years in prison

A naturalized U.S. national who pleaded blameworthy to receiving subject grooming from the Islamic State successful Syria was sentenced connected Monday to 10 years successful national prison.

Lirim Sylejmani, 49, who was calved successful Kosovo and moved to Chicago astir 25 years ago, engaged successful astatine slightest 1 conflict against U.S.-led conjugation forces aft helium entered Syria a decennary ago, according to prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras successful Washington, D.C., handed down Sylejmani's situation sentence, which volition beryllium followed by a beingness of supervised release.

Sylejmani pleaded blameworthy successful December to 1 number of receiving subject grooming from a overseas violent organization.

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A pistillate walks successful the al-Hol campy successful northeastern Syria's Hasakeh province, wherever tens of thousands of mostly women and children linked to the Islamic State radical person been surviving for years, Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP)

"This suspect volition walk a decennary successful situation reasoning astir the betrayal to this country," wrote the interim U.S. lawyer for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, besides a erstwhile Fox News host.

"Anyone reasoning that ISIS is the reply to their questions, champion deliberation again," she continued. "We volition spell to immoderate lengths to basal retired subversive individuals who privation to overthrow the authorities and harm its citizens."

In November 2015, Sylejmani and his household flew to Turkey earlier crossing the borderline into Syria, wherever helium received grooming with different ISIS recruits until February 2019, erstwhile helium was captured with his household by Syrian forces successful Baghouz, Syria, according to prosecutors.

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This is simply a locator representation for Syria with its capital, Damascus. (AP Photo)

His subject grooming included acquisition connected however to assemble and occurrence an AK-47 rifle, arsenic good arsenic however to usage a PK Machine gun, M-16 firearm and grenades.

Sylejmani was besides erstwhile injured successful a conflict with Syrian forces successful June 2016.

Prosecutors said Sylejmani, who adopted the sanction Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi, pledged "bayat," oregon allegiance, to ISIS person Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and to the ISIS enactment successful beforehand of an Iraqi ISIS member.

He was transferred to the U.S. successful September 2020 to look criminal charges successful Washington, D.C.

Interim U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said: "Anyone reasoning that ISIS is the reply to their questions, champion deliberation again." (Drew ANGERER / AFP)

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"The behaviour is acold much than a single, impulsive act. He chose to jeopardize the information of his household by bringing them to a war-torn state to articulation and instrumentality up arms for ISIS," prosecutors wrote.

Sylejmani's attorneys assertion helium is not a "committed jihadist" and does not espouse violence.

"He is guilt-ridden for his actions and the harm helium has visited connected his family, who stay detained successful a exile campy successful Syria surviving nether unspeakable conditions," his lawyers wrote. "He wishes lone to implicit his clip and find his woman and children, truthful helium tin unrecorded an mean law-abiding beingness with them."