Jordanian Jailed For Joining Syria Militant Group

A Jordanian court on Monday sentenced a man to two years in jail for joining a terrorist organization in neighboring Syria and exiting Jordan illegally.



Having reviewed case evidence, the Jordanian State Security Court slapped the defendant with a three-year jail term, which was later commuted to two years, according to a judicial source who noted that the decision could still be appealed at a higher court.



The defendant had confessed earlier to leaving Jordan illegally and joining the Al-Nusra Front, one of several militant groups fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.



Prosecutors, the judicial source said, had accused the defendant of having left Jordan in May, illegally crossing the border into Syria, and eventually joining Al-Nusra.



According to prosecutors, the man spent a whole year fighting alongside the militant group before returning to Jordan in July, the source said.



The man, the source added, had been arrested 20 days after returning home.



Two State Security Court departments, meanwhile, have adjourned to next week the trial of 12 individuals accused of recruiting people for militant groups, according to Jordan's official news agency.



The court also adjourned to next month the trial of five other people in the same case to give it adequate time to hear arguments for the defense.



Jordan has taken in vast numbers of refugees from Syria since civil war broke out in that country more than three years ago.



With 375 kilometers of shared borders with Syria, Jordan faces the tough task of preventing militants from infiltrating into its territory.



By Saddam al-Yahiya



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Amman