Foreign Worker Who Sent Funds to Terrorist Group Sentenced to 1 Year and 6 Months in Prison on Appeal

A foreign worker who sent 4 million won in funds 20 times to an armed group designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations (UN) was sentenced to prison again in the second trial following the first trial.

Seoul Central District Court, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

According to the legal community on the 13th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Appeal Division 1-2 (Presiding Judges Kim Soo-kyung, Kim Hyung-jak, Lim Jae-hoon) sentenced A (35), a Uzbek national, who was tried for violating the Anti-Terrorism Act and other charges, to the same prison term of 1 year and 6 months as in the first trial.

The court stated, "Providing essential funds for the continuation of a terrorist organization is, regardless of the amount, an act that facilitates the activities of the terrorist group itself, posing a very high risk of undermining international peace and national and public safety."

A was charged with supporting two members of the organization with goods worth approximately 4 million won over 20 occasions from 2021 to 2022, knowing that 'Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad' (KTJ) is a terrorist group engaged in activities such as killing people.

KTJ, the former combat unit of the Al-Qaeda Syria branch 'Jabhat al-Nusra,' was formed in 2014 with the aim of overthrowing the Syrian regime and establishing an Islamic theocratic state. As of 2019, it was known to have about 500 combatants. It was also identified as behind the 2016 suicide bombing attack on the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan and the 2017 subway bombing in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The UN designated KTJ as a terrorist organization in March 2022.

A admitted all the crimes and expressed remorse, requesting a reduced sentence considering factors such as not having started the crime with a definite intent to support the terrorist group, having family to support, and the plan to be forcibly deported to Uzbekistan after the sentence ends. However, the court did not accept the request.

A appealed the decision and filed a further appeal.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.