Lisa Smith

2022 - 7 - 11

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Lisa Smith has already served a sentence and should not be sent to ... (BreakingNews.ie)

Lawyers for former soldier Lisa Smith said the court should consider her young child and the 'appalling' conditions they suffered while in Syria.

She said that at times he was "the best in the world" in how he treated her and their daughter. Dr Speckhard noted that Smith, unlike those who had fought for Isis, denounced the group's actions and Dr Speckhard found evidence that she was sincere in her renunciation. Mr O'Higgins also asked the court to consider a further report that looks at the effect a custodial sentence would have on Smith's child. She was first introduced to Islam during a trip to Tunisia. She got involved in online debates about Christianity and Islam and linked up with a mosque in Dundalk where she claims to have learned about conspiracy theories regarding Islam and the West. She came to believe in God and "the day of judgment" and became concerned about going into "hell fire". He said there was no "benign" explanation for her travel and no alternative Islamic State that she could have been travelling to. He would kick and punch her and sometimes drag her by the hair while hitting her. In the judgment delivered in May, Mr Justice Hunt noted that religion is "irrelevant to membership of Isis" as criminal activity cannot be justified by religious obligation. He said the court has a lot to consider, and the case is a "novel" one. At Monday's sentence hearing, Mr O'Higgins relied on psychological reports by "eminent" psychologists who had interviewed Ms Smith in recent years. There is, he said, "maximum daylight" between al-Baghdadi and Ms Smith whose offending the court has already accepted is at the lower end of the scale. He also asked the court to consider that Ms Smith has lived with a 13-hour daily curfew as part of her bail conditions since 2019. Michael O'Higgins SC, for Smith, asked the court not to send his client to prison.

"Irish ISIS Bride" Lisa Smith could receive up to eight years in prison (IrishCentral)

The sentencing of Irish woman Lisa Smith, who was found guilty of membership of a terrorist organization, has been postponed until July 22.

The maximum sentence for joining an unlawful organization was increased from seven years in 2005 as part of anti-terrorism legislation. In May of this year, she was found guilty of membership of the terrorist organization ISIS by the non-jury Special Criminal Court. However, she was found not guilty of financing terrorism. Smith remains free on bail but is subject to a 13-hour daily curfew.

Lawyers for convicted ISIS member Lisa Smith argue her time in ... (Independent.ie)

Lawyers for convicted ISIS member Lisa Smith have argued that her time spent in custody in Syria should offset any potential jail term here.

In relation to the second charge, the non-jury court said there was "no doubt" that at the time of the attempted money transfer the intended recipient, John Georgelas, was a member of ISIS involved in propaganda and fighting. The three judges found there was no doubt that Lisa Smith was a member of ISIS and that the prosecution had made its case on the evidence presented. In a report handed in to the court, Smith also told the expert that she "wouldn't be in a hurry to run back to any Islamic State", and that her life was "handed over" to chief ISIS propagandist John Georgelas. While the prosecution didn't allege that she was involved in combat, senior counsel Sean Gillane said she "enveloped herself in the black flag" of ISIS by providing it sustenance and vitality. It was the State's case that she made hijrah, or emigrated, to ISIS territory in 2015 to support the group after it established a caliphate. A psychological report submitted by the defence said that Lisa Smith found this curfew difficult which was "somewhat to do with her paranoia" arising from people staring at her, and the "perception she's being judged all the time" including on a micro-level.

Court hears Lisa Smith was 'extremely vulnerable' and was 'treated ... (Irish Mirror)

Ex-Defence Forces member Lisa Smith, 40, was found guilty of membership of the so-called Islamic State (IS) terror group, and was acquitted of a separate ...

“If the court was of the view that there had to be a custodial element, my respectful submission is that Ms Smith is uniquely placed to make a case that any custodial sentence that could be imposed has already been served.” Mr O’Higgins said that the psychological reports presented “a picture of an extremely vulnerable person, but accompanying that vulnerability is a great level of stoicism in terms of dealing with whatever hand she’s been dealt with”. Mr O’Higgins continued that if those two arguments are not accepted, there should be a sentence on the “lower end”, particularly considering Ms Smith’s child and “all of the very unusual circumstances”. Extracts from one of a number of reports read out in court noted that Ms Smith had a “remarkably negative evaluation of herself, her life and her intended purpose”, and that she “is likely to be plagued” by her thoughts. The report also said that she has a tendency to “subordinate her own interests with those of others”. In a sentencing hearing on Monday, barrister Michael O’Higgins SC argued that considering the state of Ms Smith’s marriage to a man who the prosecution has claimed was a member of IS while in Syria is “a very relevant factor in mitigation”.

Sentencing adjourned for 'vulnerable and damaged' Smith (RTE.ie)

Lisa Smith is "a very vulnerable and damaged person" who lived life unsure who she is and does not know what she is looking for, the Special Criminal Court ...