21/12/2022

Turkish citizen charged by Switzerland with assisting terrorist organizations and advocating for violent crime

ZURICH — The Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) initiated criminal proceedings against a Turkish citizen for providing support for terrorist organizations on Tuesday. The 26-year-old defendant is charged with motivating a juvenile to embrace the Islamic State group’s ideology and arrange for him to travel to territory under the group’s control.

The defendant, a resident in neighboring Austria, was detained before he could board his flight to Syria.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the OAG claims that the defendant also created and disseminated propaganda for the outlawed Islamic State and Al-Qaeda through a media site he owned and operated.

The individual allegedly also raised money to help Islamic extremists escape from a Syrian detention camp.

The defendant has been the subject of ongoing criminal investigations for more than three years. The trial has not yet been scheduled.