Lisa Smith begins appeal over Islamic State membership sentence

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Lisa Smith began an appeal against her 15-month prison sentence for membership of the Islamic State terrorist organisation, as reported on 4 October 2022. She had been sentenced at the Special Criminal Court in July.

Senior Counsel Michael O' Higgins argued that the sentence was too high and that insufficient weight had been given to mitigating factors, including Smith's time in custody, the conditions in the Al-Hawl camp, her assistance to the prosecution and co-operation with gardaí. The report also said Professor Anne Speckard considered that Smith had denounced ISIS.

Counsel for the prosecution Sean Gillane said the sentence was legitimate and that almost 50% credit had been given for mitigation. Judgment in the appeal was reserved.