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Germany accuses Arab immigrant of collecting funds for Daesh 

May 1, 2021 at 1:24 pm

A mural bearing the logo of Daesh on 1 March 2017 [AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images]

German authorities announced on Friday that German prosecutors had charged an Iraqi immigrant with the crime of joining a terrorist organisation over allegations that he raised thousands of dollars for Daesh, RT reported.

The man, who was identified only as “Ayman” under German privacy laws, was arrested in early January at the German border with Switzerland on his way to join the ranks of Daesh and fight in Syria or elsewhere, according to the Federal Prosecutors.

The suspect arrived in Germany from Iraq in 2016, during a wave of mass immigration from the Middle East.

According to prosecutors, the defendant: “Became interested in the ideology of Daesh by the end of 2018 and joined the extremist group before 2020.”

READ: Tunisian detains repatriated women with suspected Daesh ties, says HRW

The German prosecutor stated: “Ayman originally wanted to travel to the Middle East to participate in the ‘armed jihad’, but members of the terrorist organisation asked him to postpone his plan and stay in Germany to raise funds.”

Between June and September 2020, the defendant transferred at least $12,000 via multiple transactions to Daesh cells in Syria and Lebanon.

The prosecutors indicated that the funds were used to support female sympathisers in Syrian refugee camps and fund the smuggling of women wanting to join Daesh. They added that the money transferred to Lebanon was intended to help the Daesh fighters get out of prison and facilitate their return to the terrorist cells.

There were no immediate details on the date of bringing the case to trial.