German-Syrian man pleads guilty to being al-Qaeda terrorist in Germany

German-Syrian man pleads guilty to being al-Qaeda terrorist in Germany

2011-05-06 23:35:30 GMT+7 (ICT)

FRANKFURT, GERMANY (BNO NEWS) -- A German-Syrian man on Friday pleaded guilty of being a member of the al-Qaeda terrorist network in Germany, Deutsche Welle television reported.

The 25-year-old Syria native, only identified as Rami M., submitted a confession to a Frankfurt court on Friday during the first day of his trail which is expected to last only three days.

The defendant acknowledged the majority of the charges including being a member of al-Qaeda and traveled to Pakistan's border region with Afghanistan in order to attend a terrorist training camp.

Prosecutors also said that he participated in combat against Pakistani security forces. He was arrested in Pakistan as he attempted to return to Germany for allegedly raising funds for the terrorist organization in the summer of 2010.

However, authorities believe that he provided information that led to a terror alert in November 2010. In consequence, former Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere ordered to increase security at Germany's airports, train stations and other possible targets.

Furthermore, prosecutors said that the German-Syrian man attempted to return to Europe as he was allegedly going to participate in a possible future terrorist attack in German soil.

Rami M. said that he only had orders of raising 20,000 Euros ($29,7300) in donations every six months and functioning as a German contact for al-Qaeda. He is facing a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

On April 29, German police officers arrested three suspected members of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization continuing the hunt of terrorist operatives in the European country due to last year's threats.

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