A Belgrade court on Wednesday (April 4th) sentenced seven people to up to 11-year jail terms for joining extremist groups and recruiting fighters for the Syrian war, AFP reported.

The defendants were "found guilty of terrorism charges as well as financing terrorism and recruiting and training fighters" to go to Syria, the special tribunal for organised crime said in a statement.

They were accused of fundraising in the Balkans region and western Europe to finance, recruit and train a number of Serbian citizens for the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) and the former al-Nusra Front (ANF) groups in Syria.

Four defendants denied charges. Another three were tried and sentenced in absentia. They are believed to have been killed in Syria.

The men received jail sentences ranging from seven to 11 years.

The defence attorneys said they would appeal the verdict.

Around 1,000 people from the western Balkans are estimated to have left to fight in Syria and Iraq since 2012. But official figures show departures slowed dramatically in 2016 following a government crackdown on suspected extremists.