German court convicts radical imam of membership in IS

BERLIN (AP) — A former imam at a radical mosque in Germany has been Wednesday of being a member of the Islamic State group and sentenced to 10 1/2 years in prison. The state court in Celle in northern Germany convicted the 37-year-old Iraqi citizen who goes by the alias Abu Walaa of membership in a foreign terrorist organization as well as terror financing and being an accessory to preparing a serious act of violence. The court found that Abu Walaa and his network radicalized young people in northern and western Germany and sent them to areas controlled by IS. Three co-defendants were given prison sentences of up to eight years.