The defendant, who had migrated from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, maintained during the trial that he had not called upon anyone to fight.
20 years in prison for Islamic State recruiter in Austria
A jihadist preacher was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Austria on Thursday for having incited young men to join the Islamic State extremist fighters in Syria.
A court in the city of Graz found 35-year-old Mirzad O guilty of having incited others to commit terrorist murder and other serious crimes.
The defendant, who had migrated from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, maintained during the trial that he had not called upon anyone to fight.
He had only preached the way he had been taught in Saudi Arabia, he said.
Family members of young men from Austria who have died or are missing in Syria told the court how they had been powerless to stop them from being drawn into the war in Syria.
The verdict is pending appeals by the prosecutor and the defendant, whose full name was not provided by authorities under Austrian privacy laws.
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