Plzen, West Bohemia, Dec 22 (CTK) – A state attorney yesterday filed charges against a young Czech man suspected of planning to join the Islamic State organisation, for which he may face an exceptional sentence including life imprisonment, Czech Radio (CRo) has written on its website.
“Criminal charges against the accused, Jan S., have been filed with the Plzen Regional Court. The suspected crime has been qualified as the preparation of a terrorist attack. He may face a prison sentence of 12 to 20 years or even an exceptional sentence,” the supervising state attorney, Jan Kubias, told CRo.
According to media information, the suspect, who is the first Czech to be detained for planning to join IS, is a 21-old-year man from Spalene Porici, west Bohemia.
The weekly Respekt previously reported that the man was detained at an international airport in Turkey in January. He probably was not a member of any group.
When detained, he had an air ticket for a domestic flight to the Syrian border. He reportedly confessed to the Turkish police that he was travelling to Syria in order to join IS.
The Turkish police returned him to the Czech Republic, on which they informed their Czech counterparts.
At the beginning, the Czech police did not imprison the young man, but launched his prosecution for an attempt to join an organised criminal group.
Based on his testimony, however, they toughened the crime qualification and started to prosecute him for a terrorist attack in the phase of preparation.
On July 20, a court ordered that the man be taken into custody.
A circumstance aggravating his situation is that he thoroughly prepared for his trip, CRo said.
He bought a one-way air ticket to Gaziantep, a Turkish town from where those wanting to join IS set out for the Syrian border. He booked a vehicle with which he wanted to continue to the Turkish-Syrian border.
Psychological and psychiatric checks have ruled out the man’s insanity.
rtj/dr
