A former Swiss army officer who fought in a Christian militia against Islamic State in Syria has been given a suspended sentence and small fine by a military court in Bellinzona. He was found guilty of undermining Switzerland’s defensive capabilities by joining a foreign army. The court gave him a suspended three-month prison sentence and a fine of CHF500 ($500). He was acquitted on the additional charge of recruiting and attempting to recruit Swiss citizens for a foreign army. Born in St Gallen and raised in Ticino,Johan Cosar’s family belongs to the Syriac minority, one of the oldest Christian communities in the East of Syria. He was also a sergeant in the Swiss army. He has admitted to co-founding and participating in the activities of a private militia, and the Syriac Military Council. The militia’s mission is to defend the Christian populations of Syria,which are persecuted by the Islamic State. After two years fighting for the militia, Cosar was arrested in Basel in ...
Source: swissinfo.ch