Notorious hate preacher Abu Walaa, described as the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) group's de facto leader in Germany, went on trial Tuesday (September 26th) accused of radicalising young men and running an extremist network linked to the Berlin Christmas market attacker, AFP reported.
Nicknamed "the faceless preacher" for showing his back to the camera in propaganda videos, the 33-year-old Iraqi was arrested last November on suspicion of being the "central figure" in an ISIS recruitment ring.
Abu Walaa -- named by the authorities as Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah Abdullah -- appeared before a court in the northern German city of Celle alongside four co-defendants accused of supporting ISIS.
The five created a "pan-regional Salafist-jihadist network" in which Abu Walaa "took on the leading role as the representative of the so-called Islamic State in Germany", prosecutors said in their indictment.
"The goal of the network was to send people to ISIS in Syria or Iraq," they said.
The closely-watched terror trial, expected to run until early 2018, opened under heavy security with armed police on patrol outside the courthouse.
"For a long time little has been known about the backroom men, those who seduce and incite to jihad," Der Spiegel news weekly wrote.
"The proceedings against Abu Walaa promise to give deep insights into these mechanisms, which makes this one of the most interesting Islamist trials in recent years."
If found guilty, the accused face up to 10 years in prison, according to DPA news agency.
