Two Years Imprisonment for Iranian-German Citizen on Charges of 'War Crimes'

Arya Lajevardi, a 21-year-old Iranian-German, was sentenced to two years in prison on Tuesday, July 13, in a court in Frankfurt, Germany, for 'committing war crimes.' According to AFP, this Iranian-German youth traveled to Syria for several weeks in 2014 and joined a jihadist group. Previously, AFP reported on April 3 that Mr. Lajevardi was on trial for allegedly being a member of the 'Islamic State' or ISIS, accused of committing war crimes and having published photos with the decapitated heads of ISIS victims. The mentioned photos, in which Arya Lajevardi is holding the decapitated heads of victims, date back to spring 2014 and were later published on Facebook. The Frankfurt court stated on Tuesday, July 13, that he took these photos with two companions to humiliate victims they believed were 'infidels or non-believers.' However, Arya Lajevardi denied this accusation in his first trial session, claiming he had only gone to Syria to help war victims. Arya Lajevardi, who was arrested last autumn in Frankfurt, confirmed that he had received weapons training but denied the charge of membership in jihadist groups. He stated regarding the photos that people took these photos of him, and he was unaware they would publish them on social media.