A court in Germany has sentenced an asylum seeker from Tajikistan to seven years in prison for membership in the Islamic State (IS) extremist group and plotting attacks in Albania and Germany.
Prosecutors accused Ravshan B., whose last name has not been disclosed in line with German privacy laws, of being the ringleader of a group of Tajik nationals suspected of forming a terror cell.
The 31-year-old man made a partial confession and apologized to the court before the January 26 verdict was handed down, saying he was "terribly sorry for everything."
Together with a group of other men from Tajikistan, the 31-year-old went to Albania at the behest of a Russian to carry out a contract murder for $40,000 in order to fund the IS terror cell.
The operation in Albania fell apart and they returned to Germany, where the group also allegedly planned to kill an individual critical of Islam near Dusseldorf.
The cell also planned attacks with flying kites and paragliders and intended to build bombs, prosecutors said.
Among the planned targets were U.S. military bases in Germany.
The other members of the alleged cell are awaiting trial in custody.
German Court Sentences Tajik Man To Seven Years On Terror Charges
Among the planned targets were U.S. military bases in Germany. (file photo)