A Malaysian painter was sentenced today to 12 years in jail for fighting alongside Islamic State militants in Syria, his lawyer said.

Fauzee Ahmad, 48, pleaded guilty to the charge of supporting terrorist activities before the Kuala Lumpur High Court, according to his lawyer Eric Paulsen.

Fauzee was arrested by anti-terrorist police in October 2014, a month after he returned from Syria.

He took part in activities involving firearms and explosives while he was in Syria between June 29 and Sept 18, 2014.

Paulsen had argued for a lighter sentence for Fauzee, telling the court that he went to Syria as a painter who wanted to capture in his work the chaos and cruelty of the regime towards the Syrian people, but ended up supporting the militants.

Prosecutors said he returned to Malaysia in September 2014 to propagate the group’s ideology.

Malaysian authorities have been relentless in pursuing Islamic State supporters in the country, charging dozens of them in various courts.

Police estimate that nearly 100 Malaysians have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight alongside Islamic State militants.

- dpa