Name/ Material support for ISIS, the Albanian is arrested in New York. Eight years ago, his brother was also arrested

An Albanian-American was arrested in New York on criminal charges related to his involvement as a suspect in the attempt to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), as well as the distribution of instructions and information related to the production of explosives.

According to court documents, Erald Alimehmeti, 33, of Tirana, Albania, is a former resident of the Bronx, New York, who moved to Albania in 2014. Alimehmeti was arrested by Albanian authorities and jailed in late 2015. until 2019 and again from late 2020 to 2022 for weapons and assault offences.

According to an official release from the DOJ , Alimehmeti created and used multiple online accounts on encrypted messaging apps and social media websites to communicate with others about planning and training for attacks on behalf of ISIS.

Alimehmeti is charged with attempting to provide material support to ISIS, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of distributing information about explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction, which also carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

“The FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which consists primarily of FBI agents and analysts and detectives from the New York City Police Department, is investigating the case.

The Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs, the Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and law enforcement partners in Albania and Australia, including the Australian Attorney General's Department, provided valuable assistance.

Assistant US Attorneys Nicholas S. Bradley and Jane Y. Chong for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with the assistance of District Attorney Jessica K. Fender of the Homeland Security Division's Counterterrorism Section.

A criminal complaint is simply an allegation. "All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law," the official statement said.

His brother was also arrested for terrorism

In 2016, Sajmir Alimehmeti, who was 22 at the time, was arrested in New York. He was arrested as a sympathizer of the Islamic State. According to the Associated Press, the arrestee is Sajmir Alimehmeti, who is described in Manhattan District Court documents as "a repeat supporter" of ISIS since 2014.

According to US authorities, cited by the Associated Press, Alimehmeti tried to seek help to travel from New York to Syria to fight for the Islamic State. He had tried twice more to travel in the direction of Syria, but had not succeeded.

American media reported that the FBI had prior information about Sajmir Alimehmet and his efforts to join the Islamic State. Last year, he was detained twice in the UK, from where he was thought to be traveling to the Middle East to join ISIS.

According to them, Alimehmeti was detained in Manchester and at London's largest airport, Heathrow, and after camouflage clothing and a piece of equipment used for martial arts were found in his bag, he was returned to the United States of America.

The arrest of Alimehmet, who was also known as "Abdul Qawii", was carried out after the infiltration of an FBI agent in his apartment in the Bronx, New York. According to a New York-based media outlet, ABC7 NY, the undercover agent had watched him play ISIS videos, which Alimehmeti said "kept him motivated while training."

The Federal District Court in Manhattan sentenced Sajmir Alimehmet to 22 years in prison in 2019 after pleading guilty to charges of collaboration with terrorist groups.

Sajmir Alimehmeti was sentenced by the Manhattan District Court in New York, USA, while Judge Paul A. Engelmayer called him a "time bomb that could explode very quickly".

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