Prosecutor asks for acquittal for Syrian terror suspect

The Public Prosecutor asked the Rotterdam court on Thursday to acquit a Syrian asylum seeker suspected of involvement in a terrorist organization, be acquitted, the Telegraaf reports.

The 19-year-old asylum seeker, Mohanned B., was arrested last year based on statements he made to other asylum seekers in the Zaandam shelter. He told them that he was a member of Al-Qaeda and ISIS for over two years.

While the Prosecutor considers the two asylum seekers who reported the man to be reliable witnesses, he doubts the truth of the B.'s stories. This mostly has to do with the young man's age and trauma he suffered in war - he lost two brothers in the Syrian civil war. Behavioral experts also stated that B. likely invented the stories to look tough in front of other asylum seekers in the shelter in order to protect himself. They described him as an immature young man who made unwise statements in a strange and uncertain situation.

The court will rule in this case on August 29th. Given the complexity of the case and the fact that terrorism may be involved, the Public Prosecutor asked that B. remain in custody until the ruling.