Frenchman on trial for helping girl seeking to join ISIS via Turkey
NEWS CENTER (DİHA) - The French girl knew him as "Tony Toxiko" - an ISIS recruiter who first used Facebook to cajole her into joining him in Syria, then brusquely called to force the issue: Come to me or risk damnation. She was 14.
The recruiter promised to marry Amelia and teach her to fight, but first she had to get to the war zone and needed an adult’s help. The middleman, Riad Ben Cheikh, went on trial in Paris on March 6 on charges of criminal association with the preparation of a terrorist act, and aiding a runaway. Amelia has since become pregnant and is believed to be in Syria, the prosecutor and defense lawyers said March 6. The trial offered a rare glimpse into the world of ISIS recruitment of girls, a growing concern for many Western governments. Britain recently was shaken by the news of three teenage girls leaving their families with apparent intent to join a friend with extremists in Syria. In many cases, families have little warning and Europe’s open borders and travel rules make the trip easy, even for adolescents.
Amelia’s Internet quest to learn more about Islam ended up with her pledging her hand in marriage to an unknown jihadi twice her age. Her last name was not made public because she is a minor. Judicial documents say Amelia used her savings to buy a one-way ticket from Lyon to Turkey, with the aim of reaching Syria. Riad Ben Cheikh is accused of booking her a hotel room the night of Feb. 24, 2014 in the Lyon area, and paying her train fare to the Lyon airport.
Detained in line for Istanbul flight
The girl was detained as she lined up for her flight to Istanbul. Her parents, who discovered a paper trail for her one-way ticket the day before, had flagged her to police. Ben Cheikh has said he believed he was only helping her rejoin her husband in Syria. The prosecutor requested a sentence of three years in prison with one year suspended. Ben Cheikh’s lawyer said his client "never had the intention to go to Syria, as could be seen from the phone taps and surveillance of his Facebook conversations."
(nt)
