Community Service, Not Jail For Swiss IS Returnee

[Valin]

Under The Black Flag:

December 11, 2014

A Swiss national who fought with the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria will not go to prison, local media reported on December 10.

 

Instead, in a precedent-setting ruling that contrasts sharply with the harsh penalties imposed by other European courts, a Swiss court sentenced the 30-year-old man to 600 hours of community service. He will also receive counseling from a psychiatrist.

 

According to local media, the man, who has not been named, went to Syria to fight for Islamic State in December 2013. He spent two weeks in a training camp but returned to Switzerland three months later, after deciding he wanted to quit. The man claimed that Islamic State militants imprisoned him before he managed to leave.

 

Switzerland’s Federal Intelligence Service estimates that around 25 Swiss nationals have gone to Syria and Iraq and that 10 are fighting with groups including Islamic State.

 

In October, Switzerland issued an initial six-month ban on Islamic State membership, in a move to deter Swiss citizens from joining the extremist group. The sweeping ban includes all propaganda, recruitment and fund-raising activities.

 

(Snip)