German court jails mother of 5 for Islamic State membership in Syria

A German court handed down a four-year sentence on Thursday to a German-Lebanese mother of five children for membership of Islamic State during her time in Syria.

The Dusseldorf court also found her guilty of a war crime on account of the fact that she had illegally seized a home, and further that she had neglected her duty of care.

The 31-year-old woman left Germany along with her four children in 2015 to join Islamic State. While in Syria, she gave birth to her fifth child.

The German-born woman was arrested in Essen in July last year, some two and a half years after returning to Germany.

Her husband, who is said to have been reported missing, once occupied a senior position at a mosque in Hildesheim that was run by Abu Walaa, who has been convicted of leading Islamic State in Germany and is currently serving a 10-year-sentence.

Conversations intercepted

The court acknowledged that the woman's husband had taken the decision to travel to Syria, but rejected her claim that she know nothing about Islamic State on the basis of conversations intercepted by the authorities.

It found that she had distributed propaganda for the organization and encouraged family members to travel to Syria.

It also found she had sent her children to educational institutions linked to Islamic State.