Three persons, who were found guilty of recruiting youngsters from Kerala to the terror outfit Islamic State (IS), were sentenced to up to seven years imprisonment by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Kochi on Friday.
Midhilaj (31) and U K Hamza (60) were sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000 each, while Abdul Razak (38), was sentenced to six years in jail and fined Rs 40,000.
The three hailed from various parts of north Kerala’s Kannur district and were found guilty of luring youngsters through camps in 2017 in Kannur’s Valapattanam area. Around 15 people from various parts of the district were allegedly recruited to the terrorist organisation IS.
The court found them guilty on Tuesday under various sections of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Indian Penal Code. The Kerala Police had initially registered the case; the NIA subsequently took over the investigation in 2018. Four persons were charge-sheeted, of which one was absconding.
The three convicts had pleaded the court for leniency in the sentencing. The three had stated to the court that they did not follow IS ideologies anymore and were also confined to prison over the last several years.
Over the last several years, more than 100 people from Kerala, including professionally qualified men and women, reportedly left the country to join the IS—many of whom were allegedly killed in encounters.
(Published 15 July 2022, 14:52 IST)
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