Lirim Sylejmani, 49 years old, an American citizen born in Kosovo, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 10 years in prison in for undergoing military training with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and subsequently engaging in at least one battle with U.S.-led coalition forces, KosovaPress reports.
The sentence was announced by U.S. prosecutor Jeanine Ferris Pirro, head of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice Sue Bai, and acting FBI Special Agent Courtland Rae of the Counterterrorism Division of the Washington Field Office.
Sylejmani, also known as Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi, pleaded guilty on December 12, 2024, to receiving military-style training from a foreign organization designated as terrorist. In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered Sylejmani to serve lifetime supervised release.
“This defendant will spend a decade in prison reflecting on his betrayal of this country,” said U.S. prosecutor Pirro. “Anyone who thinks ISIS is the answer to their questions should think again. We will do everything possible to root out subversive individuals who seek to overthrow the government and harm its citizens.”
According to court documents, from November 2015 to February 2019, Sylejmani received military training from ISIS in Syria. Sylejmani was captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in 2019 and spoke with several media outlets about his time with ISIS.
In November 2015, Sylejmani traveled to Syria with his family to join ISIS. After entering Syria, Sylejmani completed the admission process into ISIS. He took the name Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi and was trained to become a soldier alongside other ISIS recruits. Sylejmani’s military training included instructions on how to assemble and fire an AK-47 rifle, as well as how to use a PK machine gun, M-16 rifle, and grenades.
