A man from a conservative Catholic family who converted to Islam has been accused of organising Sharia Law patrols in a German town.
Suspected hate preacher Sven Lau allegedly encouraged his followers to put their loyalty to Islam above German law in of Wuppertal.
The 35-year-old patrolled the streets with a group clad in bright orange jackets, rallying against alcohol, gambling, music, pornography and drugs.
He also faces accusations of providing night vision goggles for suspected Islamic State (ISIS) recruits, who then travelled to Syria.
Lau is also accused of completing jihadi military training and has been accused of having strong ties to the terrorist group Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JAMWA).
The Chechen-led, ISIS-allied terrorist organisation, which mainly consists of foreign fighters, is active in Syria and counts two close friends of Lau among their members.
He is also said to be heavily involved in the Salafi movement, which promotes ultra-conservative Islamic rule.
Lau converted to Islam while training to be a mechanic. After temporarily becoming a firefighter, he opened a shop selling Islamic clothing.
He now has a long beard and goes by the name Abu Adam.
He is on the Egyptian Security Services’ blacklist and has been barred from entering the country since 2013.
He is also believed to have travelled to Syria.
The trial will begin on September 6 in Dusseldorf.
Lau has been under arrest since December last year and faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted of terrorist acts.
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