Terror charge

The 24-year-old man, who for legal reasons is identified as Kadir T., has been charged with supporting the Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), an organization linked to a militant Islamist movement.

Prosecutors say that Kadir T., who holds dual German-Turkish citizenship, worked with a group known as the "Sauerland cell." They said he had been attending meetings held by Adem Yilmaz, a member of the group, regularly since 2007.

Yilmaz is believed to have used the meetings in order to recruit new fighters for the IJU.

The public prosecutors said that since Kadir T. began attending the meetings on a regular basis, he had become an advocate of the IJU's violent jihad.

Kadir T. also stands accused of having bought a video camera and night vision equipment which he passed on to Yilmaz who in turn sent the equipment first to Turkey. From there, it made its way to the Islamic Jihad Union in Waziristan.

Four members of the Sauerland cell are currently on trial in the city of Dusseldorf. They are facing charges of plotting to target US citizens in deadly bomb attacks in three German cities.

Of the four men, two are German converts to Islam. The Sauerland cell takes its name from the region in Germany where three of those now standing trial were arrested.

If found guilty, they could be looking at up to 20 years in prison.

tkw/AFP/AP/dpa
Editor: Trinity Hartman