Austrian court jails imam, 3 other men for ‘Islamic State recruitment’

An imam and three other men have been convicted by an Austrian court for running a religious group that recruited young men for Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS). The court in Graz, the capital of Styria state, sentenced the imam to seven years in jail, AFP reported.

The three men received six-year, five-year and five-month suspended jail terms for their links to IS in Syria. Two other men were tried but acquitted.

All of the accused were born in Turkey and were found to be involved with the group founded by the 47-year-old imam. He has denied radicalizing young men to recruit them for IS. The others accused have also maintained their innocence. The verdicts can be appealed.