Rabat – The Central Criminal Court in Baghdad sentenced a German national woman of Moroccan origin to death by hanging for joining the jihadist group Daesh in Syria and Iraq.
The Judge and spokesman of the court, Abdel Settar Bayraqdar, said in a statement that the German national, who was captured by Iraqi forces during the battle in the northern city Mosul last year, was convicted for providing “logistical support and assistance to the terrorist organization in committing crimes.”
“She confessed during interrogations that she traveled from Germany to Syria and then joined Daesh in Iraq with her two daughters who then married members of the terrorist organization,” Birqdar said, declining to identify her by name.
This is the first time that the Iraqi justice system condemned to death a foreign woman for joining the militant group. The same court, in late September, sentenced to death (by hanging) a Russian man who confessed participating in “terrorist operations” in Mosul since 2015.
After a nine-month of counteroffensive, Iraqi forces succeeded in driving Daesh out of all the urban centers of Iraq in late 2017.
The Iraqi authorities have never officially indicated the number of foreign detainees it holds. However, it is believed that Iraq is now holding more than 1300 foreign women and children following the operation in Mosul. They include nationals from 14 countries, many of whom will be tried in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
In July, the German justice ministry announced that a 16-year-old German girl, named Linda W., who had joined Daesh had also been arrested in Mosul. After being interviewed by German press, the teenager appeared to show regret for joining the group. “I just want to get away from here, i just want to get away from the war, from the many weapons, from the noise,” she said.
“I just want to go home to my family,” Linda added.
