Historic German Trial Against IS Suspect

COPENHAGEN, Denmark – A German national accused of fighting for the Islamic State (IS/ISIS) in Syria is on trial in Germany, in the first case of its kind.

Kreshnik Berisha, a German-born 20-year-old whose parents are originally from Kosovo, faces a prison term of up to 10 years if found guilty.

Prosecutor Horst Salzmann wrote in a press release that Berisha “wanted to create a theocracy under Shariah law. He took the oath. He was ready to die for his goals.”

Salzmann said that Berisha traveled to Syria via Turkey in July 2013 along with other Islamists with the aim of fighting alongside IS.

The court has reportedly offered the accused a lighter punishment in return for a full confession.

Germany has recently banned all activity relating to the IS, including the use of its symbols, as well as demonstrations, fundraising or campaigning on the Internet in support of the organization.

“We must prevent radical Islamists bringing their jihad to our cities,” German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Friday.

Germany has launched 140 criminal probes against alleged IS fighters or supporters, according to the Der Spiegel news weekly.

Approximately 400 German citizens are believed to be fighting for the IS or other radical Islamic organization, and 100 have reportedly returned to Germany.

IS, which had been fighting in Syria for more than two years, brought its war into Iraq in June, when it captured Mosul. Its fighters, many of them reportedly recruits from Western countries, arrive in Iraq through the porous border with Syria.

In Paris on Monday, a US-led coalition of 26 countries vowed to provide cooperation and military aid to Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the fight to defeat the IS armies. However, there was no mention of efforts in Syria.

The news of the German ban on IS, as well as Berisha’s trial, have created widespread joy among Yezidis and other Kurds in Germany.

"It hurts me to see that IS-militants are also here,” said Rojin Suliman, who has relatives among the thousands of Yezidis who spent a week on Mount Shingal in northern Iraq, after escaping an advance by the radicals early last month.

“We have fled persecution in the Middle East to Germany, but these radical people are also here," Suliman said.

Last month, a relative of Suliman’s was assaulted by a group of apparent IS sympathizers in the German city of Herford, police said, a repercussion of the war in Iraq a continent away.

The assault led to a larger clash, forcing police to send in reinforcements and use pepper spray to calm the situation.

Police said the assault on the German Yezidis was perpetrated by six men from Chechnya, who are apparent IS supporters.

The incident reportedly happened after the Yezidi owner of a pizzeria hung a poster in his restaurant window to support a demonstration against IS attacks in Iraq.

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