A German court has rejected a request by the former leader of the Islamic State terrorist militia in Germany, Abu Walaa, to stop his deportation to Iraq.
National security priorities justified his deportation, the administrative court in Düsseldorf ruled on Monday.
Abu Walaa had been sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison in 2021 by the Higher Regional Court of Celle. But his ultimate fate depends on the results of several different legal manoeuvrers.
After a trial that lasted more than three years, the Celle court found the former Islamic preacher guilty of support and membership in a foreign terrorist organization.
The presiding judge said that he had been appointed by Islamic State as its top representative in Germany. In that capacity, he radicalized young people in north-western Germany and recruited them for Islamic State's self-declared caliphate abroad.
There is no concrete date for his deportation, especially as the public prosecutor's office has not yet agreed to suspend the prison sentence. He would normally have to remain behind bars until 2027.
In the meantime, Abu Walaa has submitted an application for asylum because he fears that if he returns to Iraq he could be put on trial and face the death penalty.