(SwissInfo) Johan Cosar, a Swiss citizen who has been fighting against Islamic State (IS) militants in Syria, was arrested in Basel upon his return to Switzerland, accused of illegally fighting for a foreign army.
The 32-year-old Cosar, who was born in St Gallen and grew up in Locarno, is currently free on bail but faces up to three years in prison if convicted of fighting for a foreign military force without permission, according to Swiss Public Television, RSI.
Military justice proceedings against Cosar were launched last autumn while he was still in Syria. In December 2014, Cosar told the Swiss newspaper Le Temps that his intention in travelling to Syria was never to fight – instead, he first worked as a journalist for Italian-language Swiss media.
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"I didn't go to Syria intending to fight," he said. "I found myself in the middle of a civil war, in a situation where you have to take up arms to protect yourself."
