{"id":26876,"date":"2022-07-22T11:10:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T15:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26876"},"modified":"2022-07-25T11:15:31","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T15:15:31","slug":"lisa-smith-sentenced-to-15-months-in-prison-for-membership-of-islamic-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26876","title":{"rendered":"Lisa Smith Sentenced To 15 Months In Prison For Membership Of Islamic State"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Lisa Smith was found guilty in May of membership of the terror group (PA Images)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Former Irish soldier Lisa Smith has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for being a member of the so-called Islamic State (IS) terror group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 40-year-old ex-Defense Forces member was found guilty in May of IS membership but was cleared of a separate charge of financing terrorism after a nine-week trial at the Special Criminal Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was granted bail ahead of sentencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith, a convert to Islam, went to Syria in 2015 after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims to travel to the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She had pleaded not guilty to charges of membership of IS and providing funds to benefit the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Passing sentence on Friday, presiding judge Mr Justice Tony Hunt said Smith, from Co Louth, had \u201caligned herself\u201d to a foreign terrorist organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he said the judges in the case had taken into consideration her previous \u201cgood character\u201d and the fact that she had made a \u201ccontribution to society\u201d during her military service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also said she had had a \u201ctough time in Syria\u201d but that it was a \u201cforeseeable consequence\u201d of joining IS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the three-judge, non-jury court had accepted that Smith had suffered domestic violence during her marriage in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The judge said he is satisfied that she is not likely to reoffend and that her focus is now on her daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Describing the trial as \u201cnovel\u201d, he went on: \u201cThere is no basis that she is a source of present danger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The maximum sentence for the offence was eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Smith, from Dundalk, was described in court earlier this month as an \u201cextremely vulnerable person\u201d who was \u201ctreated like a servant\u201d by her late husband when in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The details emerged during a sentencing hearing on July 11 as her barrister argued that she should receive a suspended sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Michael O\u2019Higgins SC told the court that the state of Smith\u2019s marriage to a man, who the prosecution has claimed was a member of IS, while in Syria was \u201ca very relevant factor in mitigation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr O\u2019Higgins said the conditions endured by Smith in a Syrian camp, combined with the strict bail conditions imposed on her for two-and-a-half years in Ireland, meant that a suspended sentence was warranted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court heard that, after leaving Baghuz, Ms Smith stayed at the Al Hawl camp from February to mid-April in an \u201cundercurrent of fear\u201d, with guards patrolling the area and \u201cdogs let out at night\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her barrister argued that if those two arguments were not accepted, there should be a sentence at the \u201clower end\u201d, particularly considering Smith\u2019s child and \u201call of the very unusual circumstances\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The verdict in the case was read out by Mr Justice Hunt on May 30th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his judgment, he acquitted her of the financing terrorism charge, saying it could not be proved beyond reasonable doubt that when she sent \u20ac800 to a man in 2015 it was specifically for the purpose of supporting the IS group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the judge said the prosecution had established beyond reasonable doubt that Smith took up membership of IS when she crossed the border into Syria in October 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He told the court that Smith\u2019s online communications with various people showed that \u201cher eyes were wide open\u201d to the situation in the land to which she \u201cfervently wished\u201d to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that Smith had pledged allegiance to the organization which al-Baghdadi led, and that she knew the organization was unlawful, and that it was not conventional or religious.<\/p>\n

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