A US teenager was sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison on Friday for using Twitter to support the Islamic State (IS) militant group, becoming the first minor to be prosecuted by the United States in such a case.
Ali Shukri Amin, 17, from the small town of Manassas an hour's drive from Washington DC, will be subject to a lifetime of supervised release and monitoring of his Internet activities.
The prolific Twitter user, who sent more than 7,000 messages on the site in support of the IS group, pleaded guilty in June.
Under the Twitter handle @Amreekiwitness, he provided IS group supporters with instructions on using the virtual currency Bitcoin to conceal financial donations to the radical Islamist group and the best way to encrypt their online exchanges.
He also offered guidance to sympathisers seeking to travel to Syria to fight with the IS group, including another Virginia teen, Reza Niknejad, who traveled to Syria in January.
Niknejad, 18, was charged in June with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists, conspiring to provide material support to the IS group and conspiring to kill and injure people abroad.
The prosecution had called on the judge to hand Amin the maximum sentence of 15 years, while his defence had argued for just six years.
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http://www.france24.com/en/20150828-usa-teen-sentenced-11-years-islamic-state-group-support-twitter
