When it comes to sentencing, the Special Criminal Court has been asked to take into account the time Lisa Smith spent in Syrian prison camps.
The former member of the Irish Defence Forces will be sentenced next week for being a member of the terror group ISIS for four years.
This case was described as a novel one. It’s the first time a person has been convicted of being a member of a terror group on foreign soil.
The maximum punishment faced by Lisa Smith for being a member of ISIS between October 2015 and December 2019 is eight years in prison.
However, at her sentence hearing today, her lawyers pleaded for leniency. They asked the court not to send her to prison on a number of grounds, including the fact she has a 5yo daughter to take care of.
They also opened psychological reports that revealed mental health issues in her past and described her as a “damaged” and “very vulnerable.”
One expert report found described her as “extremely compliant” and “lacking in confidence” and noted that she maintains she travelled to Syria for religious reasons and not to become a member of a terror group.
She’s due back in court on Friday week to be sentenced.
