Macedonia: 6 sentenced for joining ISIS, recruiting fighters
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A criminal court in Macedonia's capital Skopje has sentenced six people, including an imam, to prison for joining the Islamic State group and recruiting fighters for it.
The imam, believed to be the mastermind of the group, was sentenced Friday to seven years. A second man received a 5 ½-year sentence while the other four were sentenced to five years.
The six were arrested last August following raids in Skopje and several towns in the northwest. Another five suspects are also on trial and have pleaded not guilty.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At the time, authorities had said 130 people from Macedonia were believed to have joined IS to fight in Syria and Iraq, and 16 had been killed. Macedonians face a minimum four-year sentence if convicted of participating in overseas militant groups.