A German court on Friday sentenced a supporter of the Hezbollah terrorist organization to three years and nine months in prison for “illegal access to weapons" and social media posts supporting the terror group, AFP reported.
Earlier in the same trial, the 30-year-old man was acquitted of charges that he had fought for Hezbollah and that he was a member of the organization.
The court in Berlin handed down the sentence over social media posts containing videos taken during a trip to Lebanon in 2023.
In the videos, the defendant was seen handling rifles and anti-tank missiles and taking part in shooting practice.
The court also found that he distributed propaganda videos and displayed Hezbollah symbols including flags and scarves.
However, the judges said the footage showed that the accused had no training in handling the weapons and had acted in a “partly amateurish" manner.
The court further found that his earlier claims of fighting with Hezbollah had been fabricated in order to impress friends.
In 2020, Germany issued a federal order outlawing Hezbollah in the country, and also took enforcement measures under the provisions of the order.
Several other countries have blacklisted Hezbollah in recent years, including Britain, Slovenia, Australia and Paraguay. In December of 2024, Switzerland's parliament voted to ban Hezbollah.
The European Union, however, only includes Hezbollah's military wing - and not its political wing - on its list of sanctioned terrorist organizations.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)