DUBLIN, July 5 (Xinhua) -- A 26-year-old Irish man was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for funding the terrorist group Islamic State, reported local media RTE.
The verdict was announced on Thursday afternoon at a local circuit court in Waterford, southern Ireland, where the convicted came from, said the report.
The convicted, H. Bal, a Muslim who was born in Britain to a Turkish father and a mother of Irish descent who later separated, it said, adding that Bal moved to Ireland in 2005.
Bal was found guilty of two separate terrorist-related charges, under which he was accused of unlawfully transferring 400 euros (468 U.S. dollars) to Bosnia and Herzegovina on October 2, 2015 intending or knowing that the money would be used in whole or in part for the benefit of the terrorist group Islamic State, and attempting to collect or receive cash for Islamic State by communicating through phone with an intermediary in London on October 23, 2015.
The court also heard that Bal had made an attempt in April 2015 to travel to Syria to be part of ISIS there, but was turned back at Istanbul airport in Turkey.
Some evidences showing Bal's association with the Islamic State were also found, the court heard.
One policeman involved in Bal's case told the court that the people Bal had been in contact with were medium to high level members of ISIS.
Judge Eugene O'Kelly said the convicted could have faced more severe punishment if not due to several mitigating factors which included his regret over the offences, lack of records of previous convictions and his commitment to changing his ways.
