Court finds defrauding Islamic State is a crime in Germany

A German court has found a Syrian refugee guilty of attempting to defraud the Islamic State group, a court spokeswoman said on Monday, granting legal protection to a group viewed as terrorists by the European Union.

A judge in the district court in the southwestern city of Saarbrucken sentenced the 39-year-old hairdresser from Damascus to two years in prison for trying to get Islamic State operatives to transfer him up to 180,000 euros ($212,000).

The judge ruled that the man used the false pretence that he would carry out attacks in Germany for Islamic State using explosives. The money was never transferred to the man.

The court rejected the prosecution's argument that he was guilty of the more serious crime of planning to carry out attacks on behalf of the militant organisation.

Both parties have appealed the ruling to the federal supreme court, the court spokeswoman said. The man was named only as Hasan A due to German privacy laws.