JEDDAH: A 35-year-old Saudi who had gone to Syria two years ago to fight for the Daesh terrorist group surrendered before the authorities in the Kingdom after his mother pleaded with him to do so.

The Special Criminal Court has sentenced him to eight years in prison, a fine of SR3,000 and a travel ban equal to his jail term once released, according to reports in local publications on Tuesday.

The court found him guilty of receiving training in Syria, being a guard at the camps of the Daesh group, and attempting to fight under its flag, without the authorization of the Kingdom’s rulers. He was also convicted of giving his passport to a Daesh member.

The court heard that the man had gone to Syria in 2013 even though he had been warned by his cousins, who had previously also joined Daesh, that the terrorist group’s members were lying about what was happening in the country.

However, a few days later he managed to secure a loan and traveled to Turkey and then a town on the Syrian border. He sent a message to his wife via WhatsApp that he had contacted Daesh members and was on his way to join the group.

His wife pleaded with him to return home, but he refused to do so, and spent several months traveling between various Daesh camps across Syria. Later he contacted his mother, who also pleaded with him to return home, and it was only on her insistence that he decided to travel back to the Kingdom.

He told his mother that Daesh members would kill him if they knew he wanted to return home, so he managed to make secret contact with a smuggler who helped him reach the Saudi embassy in Turkey.