COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - A court in Denmark on Friday ordered a Danish national facing terror charges on suspicion of having fought alongside the Islamic State group in Syria held in pre-trial custody until Jan. 6.
The 32-year-old man was arrested Thursday when he arrived in Copenhagen having been extradited from Turkey. The Copenhagen police said he had been in custody since he was arrested on an international warrant in January by Turkish authorities.
Police did not give the man’s name, but Danish media widely identified him as Jacob El-Ali, who has a Lebanese-Palestinian background.
The suspect has been sought since December 2014 for supporting terrorism after he posted photos of himself standing with severed heads and praised the Islamic State group. In October of the following year, he was also suspected of promoting terrorism for allegedly having fought for the Islamic State group and for having planned a trip to Syria for at least one other person.
On Friday, he was charged with having been recruited himself and attempting to recruit several other people to join the Muslim extremists. Danish media said he pleaded not guilty but admitted having been in Syria. He also has claimed that he was a spy there for the Syrians.
If found guilty, he faces up to six years in prison.
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