Spain’s highest criminal court has sentenced two inmates jailed for terrorism offenses to seven-and-a-half years in prison for writing letters urging other inmates to adhere to jihadist ideology, court documents said on Tuesday. It was revealed.
In a judgment dated February 12, the Audiencia Nacional Criminal Court jailed Karim Abdesselam Mohamed, 50, and Mohamed El Gharbi, 36, on charges of “recruitment and indoctrination of terrorists.” and ordered each to pay a fine of 1,800 euros.
In fact, the pair were found guilty of “letting other inmates encourage them to adhere to the jihadist ideology of the Islamic State (IS) and to continue their terrorist activities upon release.”
Both men are already in prison for belonging to a terrorist organization, with Mr. Mohammed sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2015 and Mr. Gharbi to eight years in 2018.
The third defendant, Abdellah Abdesselam Ahmed, was also found not guilty because the letter did not contain any IS-related “slogans, emblems, or pictures,” even though he had written a “militant and extremist” letter. became.
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Mr. Gharbi and Mr. Mohamed met inside various prison facilities and began writing letters to each other, ultimately seeking to “unite those imprisoned for jihadist crimes and lead them not to abandon this ideology.” The decision was made, the judgment said.
The aim was to encourage them to “remain strong and united in prison” by offering support with handwritten letters containing the national flag, IS symbols and religious texts.
They also use other inmates to establish a “prison front” that is effectively a “collection of Islamic extremist prisoners”, where prisoners loyal to the Islamic State group are known to be housed. It is said that graffiti based on the theme was drawn where it could be seen.
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Not only did they gain access to prisoners imprisoned on jihad charges, but they also aimed to “educate, radicalize, and attract new followers to the violent ideology” through Islamic State-related slogans.
Ultimately, they used their time in prison to “carry out proselytizing activities and recruit and indoctrinate other prisoners,” the report said.
Mohammed was imprisoned in 2015 along with 10 other jihadists for belonging to an Islamic State-linked group that sent potential suicide bombers to Syria and “large numbers of jihadists,” including several People died in these attacks.
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