WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) — A man in northern Virginia was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for attempting to flee the country and join the Islamic State.
Joseph Hassan Farrokh, 29, was sentenced Friday as part of a sting operation aimed at capturing those who aim to support terrorist organizations like the IS, which is also known as ISIS, ISIL, and Daesh.
“With this sentence, Joseph Hassan Farrokh will be held accountable for attempting to travel overseas to join ISIL and to provide material support to the designated terrorist organization,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John P. Carlin said in a statement .
“The National Security Division’s highest priority is countering terrorist threats, and we will continue to work to stem the flow of foreign fighters abroad and bring to justice those who attempt to provide material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations,” Carlin said.
Farrokh was arrested in January at Richmond International Airport in Virginia where he was attempting to board a flight to Jordan and then on to Syria.
His lawyer, Joseph Flood, said Farrokh’s actions are “religious zealotry gone awry.”
“He renounced the affiliation and quickly came to his senses,” Flood said Friday.
Farrokh apologized, saying that he was “susceptible” to the IS militant message.
“I am very sorry for what I have done,” Farrokh said. “In no way do I want to be associated with ISIS or its sick ideology.”
Farrokh has also been ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after the completion of his eight year sentence.
“Thanks to the relentless work of agents, analysts and prosecutors, together with the essential contributions of our partners in the Join Terrorism Task Force, we were able to disrupt (Farrokh’s) plans and bring him to justice,” said Paul M. Abbate, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.
“The FBI’s highest priority remains preventing terrorist attacks and combating terrorism here in the U.S. and around the world,” he said.
