TERRORISM

German Islamic State returnee sentenced to 10 years in prison

The defendant Jennifer W. covers her face with a file in the courtroom before the trial begins. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa.
Jennifer W. was sentenced for membership in a terrorist organisation abroad, aiding and abetting attempted murder, attempting to commit a war crime, and crimes against humanity

A German woman who travelled to Iraq to join Islamic State has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by a court in Munich.

The woman - known only as Jennifer W. according to German privacy laws - was sentenced on Monday for membership in a terrorist organisation abroad, aiding and abetting attempted murder, attempting to commit a war crime, and crimes against humanity.

The Federal Prosecution had accused the 30-year-old from Lower Saxony of standing idly by in Iraq while her then-husband chained up a little Yezidi girl in a courtyard and left her to die of thirst.

Prosecutors had demanded a life sentence.

The defence argued for a maximum two-year sentence for membership of the terrorist organization Islamic State.