Hodza Eldin

Hodza Eldin, also known as Ponosan Vjernik Eldo, was born on December 13, 1988, in Restelica, Kosovo, and resided in Merano, Italy. He was radicalized by Abdul Rahman Nauroz, who exposed him to jihadist audio-visual materials and introduced him to other Rawti Shax members.
He expressed a commitment to engaging in terrorist activities, preparing to join the jihad in Syria and Kurdistan. Before departing, he underwent military training in Turkey, supported logistically and financially by Rawti Shax and its Italian cell, which was organized by Nauroz. The group facilitated his contacts in Turkey, ensuring he received the necessary combat training before being deployed to fight for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Syria.
In January 2014, Eldin travelled to Syria, where he participated in terrorist operations. However, following clashes between ISIL and al-Nusra, he returned to Europe in February 2014 and was reintegrated into Rawti Shax’s European network. He then engaged in proselytism and radicalization, working to recruit new members for deployment to conflict zones.
By October 2014, he sought to return to Syria and reestablished connections with jihadist organizations through Nauroz, ensuring his reintegration into combat operations. He stated that the only obstacle delaying his departure was the lack of a residence permit, which was required to reach Turkey before entering Syria. While waiting for its approval, he travelled to Kosovo twice.
Eldin was actively involved in jihadist propaganda, receiving and distributing extremist materials, while maintaining ties with known terrorists and glorifying their actions. He radicalized his cousin, Hodza Ersan, to the point where surveillance footage captured Ersan simulating combat and training exercises in his apartment while wielding a knife. Eldin further encouraged his cousin to join him in Syria as a fighter.
His activities were classified as transnational crimes, committed with the support of an organized criminal network operating across multiple countries, including Italy, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Iraq, and Syria.
In 2015 he was convicted of criminal association for terrorist purposes by the Tribunal of Trento and sentenced to four years in prison, subsequently being incarcerated in the high-security facility of Rossano Calabro. In 2017, the Bolzano Court of Appeal upheld his four-year sentence. And then, also the Supreme Court upheld his four-year sentence.