A case against four individuals accused of participating in terrorist activity began on Thursday, although with one unusual detail – all four were absent, with three presumed dead.

All four defendants are accused of having links to terrorist organisation IS, particularly in Syria and Iraq. However, all but one defendant are presumed dead, according to Thursday's court session.

The sole surviving defendant, Steve Duarte, is currently thought to be in a detention facility in northern Syria.

On Thursday morning, prosecutors unravelled the radicalisation of the four individuals.

Benisen R. and the brothers O.

Benisen R., the first defendant, is said to have died fighting in Syria back in 2014, according to his wife, who has since returned to Luxembourg.

Brothers Anes and Denis O. are also believed to have perished in Iraq, with the former said to have died in 2016, the latter in 2017. There are no indications that any of the three are still alive, but nor is there confirmation of their deaths; as a result, the public prosecutor's office has requested a verdict. All three still have warrants out for their arrest.

In the event that any of the three turn up alive, they would be permitted to appeal the verdict, said the prosecutor, following examples set in France and Belgium in the past. Other countries have raised suspicions that individual terrorists could have returned home as refugees under different names.

The prosecution has requested 15-year prison sentences for each of the three defendants.

These two cases will achieve a verdict by 10 July, as ruled by the judge.

Steve Duarte 

Steve Duarte is also on trial for murder. However, Duarte, a Portuguese national with links to Luxembourg, was captured by Kurdish forces in the last IS bastion in northern Syria and has remained there ever since.

At the time of his radicalisation, Duarte was a resident in Luxembourg and travelled from the Grand Duchy to Syria.

The judicial police investigators were said to be continuing their interrogations until Thursday afternoon. In this case, the hearing was extended to Friday.

Further cases?

Two separate cases were revealed to be under ongoing investigation, concerning individuals named Said and Elvir, who also departed from Luxembourg to Syria and Iraq.

A number of elements and testimonies from Thursday morning's session concerned the defendants' mosque in Esch-sur-Alzette, which was said to have invited radical preachers to speak to the congregation. However, the defendants are also believed to have been radicalised through online propaganda videos, which played a significant role in determining their beliefs.