A Kentucky Resident is Sentenced Who Fought for ISIS

Kentucky resident, Mirsad Ramic, 35, of Bowling Green, was convicted of providing material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and ISIS; conspiracy to support the organization; and receiving military training. He was sentenced to 8 years and 5 months in federal prison. He was, also, fined Ramic $25,000, according to court records.

According to court records, in June 2014, Ramic, and two other men, who had attended Western Kentucky University, left the U.S and went to Syria. Once they headed to Syria, they joined ISIS where they received training and took part in fighting for ISIS that included an area where the U.S. military was supporting opposition forces. One of the men who went overseas with Ramic was eventually killed.

Ramic bragged on social media about firing anti-aircraft weapons at airplanes while he was with ISIS, even sending a picture to his mom showing his support of ISIS.

However, once in Syria, Ramic figured out the ISIS propaganda was lies and he ultimately renounced the organization. He escaped to Turkey in 2015.  Because of his association with ISIS, Turkish authorities, they put him in prison for more than five years. 

He told a psychologist that he was tortured, beaten, deprived of food, and medical treatment for injuries. He was forced to drink urine. This is all according to court records which includes the prosecution saying Ramic’s interview was self-serving and littered with inconsistencies and lies. The prosectution urged the judge to give it no weight.

Prosecutors sought a 50-year sentence for Ramic, arguing he willingly fought for a terrorist organization and has shown no remorse.

Ramic’s attorney, Scott T. Wendelsdorf, asked Chief U.S. District Judge Greg N.Stivers to sentence Ramic to the 40 months he has been in custody since being charged and returned to the U.S., meaning he would be released after sentencing. Ramic, a Muslim from Bosnia, came to the U.S. in 2001 as a refugee after a brutal civil war tore the country apart and his father was murdered, according to court records.

Ramic, a Muslim from Bosnia, came to the U.S. in 2001 at age 11, as a refugee after civil war tore Bosnia apart. 
 
He and his family first lived in Kansas City and later in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Ramic became a naturalized U.S. citizen, according to court records.

Judge Stivers sentenced Ramic to 168 months in prison, but reduced the sentence by 67 months to account for the time he served in Turkey. Ramic also will get credit against the remaining 101-month sentence for the 40 months he has been in custody since the FBI brought him back from overseas. 

After Ramic finishes his prison sentence, the government almost certainly will revoke his citizenship and deport him to Bosnia-Herzegovina, according to authorities.