A Swedish court has sentenced a 22-year-old man to three years in prison for joining the Islamic State (IS) group. This is Sweden’s first conviction like this since new laws were created to stop people from taking part in terrorist groups. The man was found guilty of being part of a terrorist organization, helping fund terrorism, and making three trips to Somalia for terrorist activities. The court stated that all these charges were related to IS.
The sentence was set for three years and three months in jail. This case is special because it’s the first one judged under a law made in 2023 that makes it illegal to join a terrorist group. Sweden has been tightening its laws against terrorism since 2017, especially after a man from Uzbekistan, who supported IS, drove a truck into a crowded street in Stockholm, killing five people.
To introduce this law, Sweden had to change its constitution because it affected people’s rights to gather. The new law came about when Turkey delayed Sweden’s efforts to join NATO, asking Sweden to take strong action against extremist groups.
After Russia attacked Ukraine, Sweden decided to end its long-standing policy of not joining military alliances. Sweden applied to join NATO in May 2022 and became a member in March 2024.
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