DUSHANBE. Dec 13 (Interfax) - A court in Dushanbe has sentenced a French citizen to five years in prison for trying to illegally cross from Tajikistan into Afghanistan and join the ISIL terrorist group (banned in Russia), the Tajik service of Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty said.
"The Ismoili Somoni District Court in Dushanbe sentenced a French citizen to five years in prison for trying to illegally cross the border and join the ISIL terrorist group back in late November, but the judgment was made public only on December 12," the radio said.
A source in the Tajik law enforcement authorities told the radio that the French citizen, whose name was not disclosed, was detained in the Djaihun district in July while trying to illegally cross the border with Afghanistan. The source said the Frenchman arrived in Tajikistan from Kyrgyzstan with a tourist visa.
"Representatives of the French Embassy attended the trial, but the convict refused to be transferred to the home country for serving time," the radio said.
The French Embassy in Tajikistan has made no comment on the report.