US Citizen Who Fought for ISIS in Syria Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
Naturalized U.S. citizen receives 10-year sentence for ISIS military training in Syria.
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Lirim Sylejmani, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on Monday after pleading guilty to receiving military training from the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria. At 49 years old, Sylejmani, originally born in Kosovo, had lived in Chicago for approximately 25 years before traveling to Syria a decade ago. According to federal prosecutors, he participated in at least one battle against U.S.-led coalition forces during his time overseas.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, presiding in Washington, D.C., imposed the 10-year sentence and ordered that upon completion of his prison term, Sylejmani will remain under supervised release for the rest of his life. The sentencing follows Sylejmani's guilty plea from December to one count of receiving military training from a foreign terrorist organization, a charge with grave national security implications.
Federal officials emphasized the seriousness of the crime and its betrayal of U.S. values. "This defendant will spend a decade in prison thinking about the betrayal to this country," stated the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro. "Anyone thinking that ISIS is the answer to their questions, best think again. We will go to any lengths to root out subversive individuals who want to overthrow the government and harm its citizens," she added, underscoring the government's zero-tolerance approach to terrorism-related offenses.
Court documents revealed that in November 2015, Sylejmani and his family traveled to Turkey before crossing into Syria. He underwent extensive ISIS military training, learning how to handle firearms such as the AK-47, PK machine gun, M-16 rifle, and grenades. He later fought alongside ISIS militants and was injured during a battle with Syrian forces in June 2016. His involvement continued until February 2019, when Sylejmani and his family were eventually captured by Syrian forces in Baghouz, Syria.
Prosecutors detailed that Sylejmani adopted the name Abu Sulayman al-Kosovi and pledged bayat—a formal oath of allegiance—to both ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and the ISIS organization. He was transferred to the United States in September 2020 to face criminal prosecution in Washington, D.C.
Government attorneys argued that Sylejmani's actions went beyond an impulsive decision. "He chose to jeopardize the safety of his family by bringing them to a war-torn country to join and take up arms for ISIS," they wrote, characterizing his conduct as persistent engagement rather than a single misstep.
Sylejmani's defense team, in contrast, insisted that he is not a "committed jihadist" and denies any ongoing commitment to violence. His lawyers maintained that he now feels deep remorse for his choices and the suffering inflicted upon his family, who remain detained in a Syrian refugee camp under harsh conditions. They stated, "He wishes only to complete his time and find his wife and children, so he can live an average law-abiding life with them."
