Australian handed 8-year-sentence for fighting in Syria
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – An Albanian-Australian citizen was sentenced to over eight years for fighting in Syria along extremist groups and inciting violence on the internet, ABC reports.
Agim Ajazi pleaded guilty to three charges in the Brisbane Supreme Court last year, including advocating terrorism and engaging in hostile activities in a foreign country.
The 34-year-old travelled to Syria through Turkey in 2013, where he fought against Syrian government forces with extremist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra (now HTS). From 2014, he regularly crossed the Turkish-Syrian border to join battles raging in Syria.
During that time, Ajazi also made several social media posts, boasting of having cut off prisoners’ heads. The Australian court says there is no evidence the accused carried out any actual executions. Other posts incited violence against Russian civilians.
The Supreme Court ruling said Ajazi demonstrated a “reasonable level of remorse” and handed down a sentence of eight years and two months, of which more than three have already been served in pre-trial detention.