Young Latvian convicted for participation in Syria war

A district court in Riga on Thursday sentenced a young Latvian man to four years in prison for participation in the war in Syria, local media reported.

The judge at Riga City Vidzeme District court acquitted the defendant, Martins Grinbergs, of war crime charges but found him guilty of unauthorized participation in an armed conflict in a foreign country, which under Latvia's laws is a criminal offense.

At an earlier hearing, the prosecutor had sought a 11-year prison term for Grinbergs who never admitted his guilt during the trial.

Previously, representatives of the prosecutor's office informed that Grinbergs' involvement with Islamic State terrorist group had been proven. Last summer, the Latvian State Police received information that the young Latvian was detained in Turkey, which later extradited him to Latvia.

Grinbergs' lawyer Raitis Medins claimed in an interview with LETA news agency that although Grinbergs had indeed joined the terrorist organization in Syria he never got involved in real armed clashes between the warring factions or with civilians.

Latvian public television reported last fall that a 21-years-old man from the western Latvian town of Broceni, named Martins, had traveled to Syria after being recruited by IS militants on the internet.

According to the TV report, the young Latvian had left for Syria together with a Finnish national whom he also had befriended on the internet.

This is the first conviction of a Latvian national for involvement in the Syria conflict. Endit