Lisa Smith Ex-soldier turned IS member gets 15 month sentence

• Lisa Smith, 40, was found guilty in May of belonging to the group between October 28, 2015, and December 1, 2019.
• She was sentenced at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court.
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• The court ruled that she was not guilty of financing terrorism by sending money to a man for the benefit of the terrorist organisation.

A former Irish Defence Forces soldier Lisa Smith found guilty of Islamic State (IS) membership was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

Lisa Smith, 40, was found guilty in May of belonging to the group between October 28, 2015, and December 1, 2019.

The court ruled that she was not guilty of financing terrorism by sending money to a man for the benefit of the terrorist organisation.

She was sentenced at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court.

Mr Justice Hunt, the judge, stated that it was serious for any Irish citizen and former member of the armed forces to pledge allegiance to a foreign terrorist organization.

He stated unequivocally that she knew exactly what she was doing.

However, he stated that he and the court considered her previous good behaviour as well as the fact that she had a difficult time in Syria and suffered from domestic violence.

He did, however, add that this was due to her decision to travel there.

He claimed Smith was easily led, but she demonstrated resilience by remaining in Syria until the bitter end.

Mr Justice Hunt acknowledged that her circumstances had changed and that she was now a devoted mother to her daughter, to whom she was very attached.

He stated that there was no reason to believe she would pose a future threat.

Smith converted to Islam and travelled to Syria after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi urged Muslims to join the Islamic State.

Smith was vulnerable, dependent, docile, self-effacing, and suffering from mental health issues as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the three-judge non-jury Special Criminal Court.

During an earlier hearing, she sobbed in court as her lawyer pleaded mitigation on her behalf.

According to three psychologists’ reports, Smith’s childhood and family background was a “four” on a scale of one to five.

She was “in the midst of a mental health crisis” and witnessed “destructive behaviour.”

He also described to the court the violent and abusive nature of her Syrian marriage.

According to Mr. O’Higgins, she was “battered black and blue,” pushed, slapped with “an open hand to the face, hit with fists, her nose was damaged, and she sustained black eyes.”

He added that Smith also spent time in the al-Hawl detention centre and other camps, which he explained as “absolutely appalling and extremely frightening”.

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