MOSCOW, November 13 (Sputnik) — The First French citizen put on trial for charges of joining the Islamic State (IS) militant group has been sentenced to seven year in prison by a Paris court, France 24 reported Thursday.
Flavien Moreau, 27, travelled to Syria in 2012 and was arrested in January 2013 by French authorities who placed him under surveillance.
The news outlet reported that Moreau told the court that he used the services of a Turkish smuggler to get to the border village of Atme, which is controlled by Islamic State. There he purchased ammunition. He later returned to France citing tough conditions, but did not give up his jihad ambitions.
His trial began on October 17 and the sentence issued was the maximum requested by the prosecution.
In September, France's Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said that about 930 French citizens and residents, including 60 women, were involved with the militant group or planning to travel to Syria and Iraq.
As part of counter-terrorism efforts, the French Parliament approved a bill in September banning travelling for up to six months for those suspected to have links with the terrorist group.
The IS began fighting the Syrian government in 2012. In June, the group expanded its attacks to northern and western Iraq and declared an Islamic caliphate on their territories under its control. The US-led international coalition is currently carrying out airstrikes on IS targets in Syria and Iraq.
