KOCHI: After almost a two-month Covidinduced break, trial in the Islamic State (IS) case in which Thodupuzha native Subahani Haja Moideen is accused of joining the terrorist group a few years ago, commenced via video conferencing at the NIA Court here on Friday. The 43rd witness, a forensic expert, was examined on the day.
The witness was seated at the video conferencing facility in Thiruvananthapuram and heard by NIA Judge P Krishnakumar at the court hall here. NIA prosecutor Arjun Ambalapatta examined the witness. Two more witnesses, including the investigation officer, will be examined in the coming days. There are 50 witnesses in the case.
Subahani had allegedly joined IS at Mosul in Iraq where he underwent weapon training following which he was deployed at the war front in 2015. However, he decided to return after witnessing the death of a co-fighter in the battlefield and was lodged in a prison in Raqqa, Syria.
Upon his return to India in October 2016, he was arrested on suspicions of working for IS handlers in India. A team from France probing the 2015 Paris attack had interviewed Subahani in 2018 as he was attached to the IS regiment commanded by a French fighter who was visited by persons involved Paris bombings in Mosul before the attack.