Ivory Coast man jailed for 10 years in Malta for jihadist recruitment

An Ivory Coast national who tried to recruit people to carry out jihadist militant attacks in Europe was jailed for 10 years by a Maltese court on Wednesday.

Mouhamadou Dosso, 33, who also holds an Italian ID card, was arrested in November 2024 and admitted to distributing militant propaganda and trying to recruit people to carry out attacks.

Police Inspector Mohammed Shurrab told the court that Dosso used several phones looking to sign up people to his cause, focusing on asylum seekers who lived alone and had left war-torn countries.

"We are recruiting volunteers to the jihad. If you die in this fight you will go to heaven," one of his messages read.

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Six countries account for three-quarters of Europe’s unicorn startups

The mobile phones also featured photos and material linked to the Islamic State militant group.

It was not specified in court whether Dosso was actually a member of the group. It was also not known if he had managed to convince anyone to join his cause.