former Irish soldier found guilty of membership of the so-called Islamic State (IS) will appear before a Dublin Friday before the verdict.
Ex-member of the armed forces Lisa Smith40, was found guilty in May of membership of the IS terror group but was acquitted of a separate charge of financing terrorism after a nine-week trial at the Special Criminal Court without a jury in Dublin.
Smith, a convert to Islamwent to Syria in 2015 after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims to travel to the country.
The woman from Co Louth pleaded not guilty to charges of membership of IS and providing money to the group.
She was released on bail before being convicted.
Smith, of Dundalk, was described in court earlier this month as an “extremely vulnerable person” who was “treated like a servant” by her late husband in Syria.
The details came out at a hearing on July 11, when her lawyer argued that the former soldier should be given a suspended sentence.
During the hearing, attorney Michael O’Higgins SC argued that the condition of Ms Smith’s marriage to a man, who the prosecution alleged was a member of IS while in Syria, “is a very relevant factor in the moderation” .
Mr O’Higgins said the conditions Ms Smith had to endure 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.
The court heard that after leaving Baghuz, Ms. Smith stayed in the Al Hawl camp from February to mid-April in an “undercurrent of fear”, with guards patrolling the area and “walking dogs at night”.
Her attorney argued that if those two arguments are not upheld, then there should be a sentence at the “bottom” point, especially given Ms. Smith’s child and “all the very unusual circumstances.”
The verdict in the case was read on May 30 by Mr. Justice Tony Hunt.
In his verdict, Justice Hunt, who sat on the three-judge court, acquitted her of the terrorist financing charges and said it could not be proven beyond reasonable doubt that when she sent $800 to a man in 2015, it was specifically for the goal of supporting the IS group.
But the judge said the prosecution had determined beyond reasonable doubt that Ms Smith joined IS when she crossed the border into Syria in October 2015.
He told the court that Ms Smith’s online communications with several people showed that “her eyes were wide open” to the situation in the country to which she “desires” to return.
Justice Hunt said Ms Smith swore allegiance to the organization al-Baghdadi led and that she knew the organization was illegal, and that it was not conventional or religious.