MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Two California men who have allegedly expressed consistent support for Daesh terrorist organization, are on trial in the US state, local media report.
The estimated six-week trial started on Wednesday, according to The Patch. Prosecutors claim that Muhanad Badawi and Nader Elhuzayel have praised Daesh militants on social media and that a Pell Grant Badawi had received was used to buy a ticket to fly to Istanbul to die "on the battlefield."
Prosecutors also allege that in October 2014, Badawi made a video of Elhuzayel swearing allegiance to the leader of Daesh, Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi, and pledging to travel to Syria to be an Daesh fighter.
According to the FBI, US special agents have been monitoring the men since January, 2013 over their pro-Daesh comments on social media.
Daesh, a radical Sunni active in Iraq and Syria and banned in a range of countries, including Russia and the United States, recruits new members from different parts of the world, including from Europe and North America. The extremists use social networks as a tool to recruit young fighters.
Daesh militants are notorious for their brutality, including public beheadings of Western journalists.
