DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio man convicted of conspiring to join the Islamic State terrorist group in Syria has asked a federal judge to be lenient at his May sentencing.
The Dayton Daily News reports 28-year-old Laith Alebbini, a Jordanian with permanent residency status, told Judge Walter Rice on Friday he admires the United States and wanted to go to Syria to determine if the Islamic State was the right group to fight Syria’s leadership.
Alebbini was found guilty in December. He was arrested in April 2017 at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport with tickets to Jordan and then Turkey, from where he planned to travel to Syria.
Alebbini’s attorney criticized the prosecutors’ recommended range of 30 to 40 years and advocated for a sentence of the time Alebbini has served since his arrest.
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Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com
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