Prosecutor Urges Jail Term for Alleged German IS Jihadist

Prosecutors in the trial of an alleged German jihadist called Friday for him to be jailed for more than four years for having fought with the Islamic State group in Syria.

In the first German criminal proceedings involving IS, Kreshnik Berisha, a 20-year-old born near the business capital Frankfurt to a family from Kosovo, was charged with membership of a foreign terrorist organization.

He has admitted having joined IS and taken part in fighting in Syria.

But prosecutor Dieter Killmer told the superior regional court in Frankfurt that he doubted the defendant had shown "genuine remorse" based on his statements.

"He's physically back from Syria, (but) with his ideals, he hasn't yet arrived back in Germany," he said.

He called for a sentence of four years and three months, while the defense urged a lesser term of three years and three months.

"He's shown remorse by having returned," defense lawyer Mutlu Gunal told the court.

Federal prosecutors say Berisha traveled to Syria via Turkey in July 2013 with other Islamists planning to join the fight to create a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq.

He returned home for reasons that are unclear to German authorities in December 2013 and was arrested at Frankfurt airport.

The trial opened in September this year, and a verdict is expected on December 5.

About 550 German nationals have joined the IS in Syria and Iraq. Of these, 180 have returned to Germany, according to the head of the German domestic intelligence service.

Some 60 Germans have been killed while fighting under the IS banner in the two countries, Hans-Georg Maassen told last weekend's Welt am Sonntag newspaper.