Lisa Smith has been jailed for 15 months for being a member of ISIS.
The former Irish soldier was convicted of the charge earlier this year following what was described as a “novel and complex” trial before the non-jury Special Criminal Court.
At her sentence hearing a few weeks ago, her barrister pleaded for the 40-year-old mother-of-one to be spared a custodial sentence.
However, while the judges did give her a significant discount on the back of the mitigating factors in her case, they felt they had to mark what she did with some time in prison.
Lisa Smith (40) jailed for 15 months for being a member of ISIS.
The former Irish soldier was found to be a member of the terror group in Syria between 2015 and 2019.
The mother of one became very upset in the dock after she realised she was going to prison.
— Frank Greaney (@FrankGreaney) July 22, 2022
Terror
Smith is the first person to be prosecuted for and convicted of being a member of a terror organisation in a foreign land.
Having converted to Islam before leaving the Irish Defence Forces, she claimed she was answering a religious call when she went to Syria in 2015.
However, in May the court found her guilty of being a member of ISIS during the four years she spent there.
Prison
At her sentence hearing earlier this month, her barrister Michael O’Higgins SC asked the court to consider a non-custodial sentence.
He presented several psychological reports to the judges, all of which described Smith as “damaged” and a “very vulnerable person.”
He also asked the court to take into account the two years or so she spent in appalling prison camps in Syria and the fact she has a young daughter.
The maximum penalty she could have faced was eight years in prison.
