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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A French criminal court on Tuesday handed a 12-year sentence of imprisonment to a French-Armenian citizen, originally from the Yazidi ethno-religious group, for his membership of a jihadist group in Syria, reported AFP.
Artyom Aloyan, who was born 33 years ago in what is now Armenia, migrated to France in 2002 and later became a citizen of the country. He converted to Islam in 2012 and joined the jihadist group al-Nusra Front in Syria, subsequently travelling through Turkey and receiving training from the group for two months, as disclosed to Turkish authorities after his arrest in the country’s Hatay province in August 2016.
Aloyan had visited Turkey after being injured in a tank shooting in Syria in 2016, as reported by Haber 7 at the time.
The French prosecution accused Aloyan of “participation in a criminal network.” He admitted during the Tuesday trial to have fought in the ranks of the al-Nusra Front, but denied that the group is a terrorist one.“ Al-Nusra is not a terrorist organization. This is a Western view,” AFP quoted him as telling the judges.
The Paris Assize Court sentenced him to 12 years in prison as requested by the Public Prosecutor which had noted that the maximum penalty for such a crime is 30 years.
"The Paris Assize Court has been convinced of the responsibility of Artyom Aloyan in the crime with which he is accused," Chief Justice David Hale was quoted as saying when reading the verdict.
"It is worth noting the terrorist nature of the Al-Nusra Front organization, which is linked to al-Qaeda and has carried out serious jihadist actions that are manifested, among other things, by committing atrocities and attacks, especially in Iraq and Syria," he added.
Aloyan had been sentenced to four years and two months in Turkey in 2016, but he was repatriated to France without serving his full sentence.
Al-Nusra Front was formed in 2012 in Syria, fighting against the Syrian government forces. The jihadist group has been designated as a terrorist group by several countries, including the US. It has changed its name many times.
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