STOCKHOLM (SD) – A court in Sweden sentenced a man to three years and three months in prison on Friday after finding him guilty of joining the terrorist group ISIS (Daesh). This marks the first case in Sweden where someone has been convicted of participating in a terrorist organization since a new law was passed.
The 22-year-old was convicted of “participation in a terrorist organization”, financing terrorism, and three instances of traveling abroad for terrorist purposes. According to the court, all the travels were to Somalia and were linked to ISIS.
Sweden has been tightening its counterterrorism laws since 2017, after an Uzbekistan-born ISIS supporter carried out a truck attack in Stockholm, killing five people.
However, banning membership in terrorist organizations required amending Sweden’s constitution, as it conflicted with the country’s freedom of association laws. The new law was passed in 2023, around the time Turkey pressured Sweden to crack down on extremists in exchange for supporting Sweden’s NATO bid.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Sweden ended its two-century policy of military neutrality and applied to join NATO in May 2022. It officially became a member in March 2024.
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