A criminal appeals court in the city of Komotini has sentenced a 32-year-old Syrian refugee for membership to a terrorism organisation including ISIS.
The defendant, who was arrested in Alexandroupoli was originally charged with murder, explosions and arson, and membership in terrorist organisations, was referred to the Komotini court, where the prosecutor acquitted him of all but the last charge.
The man’s lawyer, Triantafilia Tsioulpa told ANA that he would appeal, especially since an Interpol document in the case file specifically refuted he was a member of ISIS and attributes part of the sentencing to a translation issue.
"The interpreter, who did not understand (Arabic), knew only Turkish; as a result, although (her client) denied the charges initially, he was charged with many, including membership in ISIS," she said.
Tsioulpa said that the man's wife, who was interviewed at the Asylum Services, proved beyond doubt she had no knowledge of the political situation in Syria, as she had left when she was 16, and expressed the belief that the court of second instance would acquit him.
The man will be detained in Grevena, in northwestern Greece, while his wife and two young children will remain in Thessaloniki.
