Courts / Louth / Report

Lisa Smith believed she would 'burn in hell' if she didn't go to Caliphate

Summary

Lisa Smith, a 39‑year‑old former Irish soldier from Dundalk, pleaded not guilty to membership of the Islamic State and to financing terrorism. She told the Special Criminal Court that she travelled to Syria in 2015 because she feared eternal damnation if she did not join the caliphate, believing it would be a peaceful state where she could raise a family and teach her children the Quran. Smith said she was misled by propaganda, never owned a weapon, and did not support terrorism or brutality. She described life in a women's camp, being robbed of €7,000, forced into a marriage with a Pakistani/British Muslim, and enduring abuse and bombings. Smith claimed she escaped by walking 15 kilometres with her daughter, later returning to Ireland. The trial is ongoing before Mr Justice Tony Hunt, Judge Gerard Griffin and Judge Cormac Dunne.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Lisa Smith believed she would 'burn in hell' if she didn't go to Caliphate. Charges or matters: membership of an unlawful terrorist group, Islamic State, between October 28th, 2015 and December 1st, 2019; financing terrorism by sending €800 in assistance, via a Western Union money transfer, to a named man on May 6th, 2015. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• October 28th, 2015 Other
• December 1st, 2019 Other
• May 6th, 2015 Incident
• December 1, 2019 Incident
• February 2016 Other
• June 2017 Other
• 2022-02-02 Publication

Why: " She said she was trapped because women who tried to leave were tortured and raped and those who escaped would be taken by Syrian forces or would be unable to go back to Europe where they were no longer wanted. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial

Related court reports

• Worker sacked over punch-up with takeaway driver wins job back
• Legal first sees miscarriage of justice certificate for IRA membership conviction quashed
• Lorry driver who imported €1m in cannabis jailed for five years
• Explosive device allegedly stored in National Museum at Collins' Barracks
• On-bail home invader who dragged car owner along ground has sentence cut
• Amateur fighter who 'brutally killed' allegedly abusive mother - kicking her to death and stepping on her 'lifeless body' as he left her to die - gets 6.5 years

Read the original CNI report