Lisa Smith (soldier)

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Lisa Smith
Bornc. 1981 (age 42–43)
Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland
Allegiance Ireland (to 2011)
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (after 2011)
BranchIrish Army- Irish Air Corps
Years of servicec. 2000–2011
RankPrivate (Irish Army), Airman (Irish Air Corps)
Unit27 Infantry Battalion (Irish Army)
Battles/warsSyrian civil war
Spouse(s)Claimed to have been married four times, including 'Ahmed' and Sajid Aslam[1]
Children1

Lisa Smith (born c. 1981) is a former Irish soldier who converted to Islam and later travelled to Syria during the Syrian Civil War to join the militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) during the Syrian Civil War. Born in Dundalk, she was a member of the Irish Army before transferring to the Irish Air Corps in 2011, but quit following her conversion to Islam.[2] In 2015, following the breakdown of her marriage, she travelled to Syria to join ISIS. In 2019, she was captured and detained by the US forces in northern Syria.[3] She was sentenced at the Irish Special Criminal Court on 22 July 2022 to 15 months in prison following her conviction on 30 May of membership of Daesh.[4][5]

A 2019 profile reported that Smith had probably travelled to Syria a few months after their 2011 interview with her, and was known to be in Syria in 2015.[6] Irish security officials also told the Irish Independent that they consider Smith to have been no more than a sympathizer.[7][8][9] Once in ISIS territory, she became the second wife of Sajid Aslam, a British jihadist. Aslam was still married to Lorna Moore, another Irish woman, who was in prison in the United Kingdom. Smith says she married Aslam as women were not allowed to live alone in ISIS territory. While there, Smith gave birth to a daughter.

She flew into Dublin on 1 December 2019, having been reportedly repatriated by members of the Army Ranger Wing from the Syrian border, where she was arrested upon arrival.[10][11][12][13][14] She was charged on 4 December 2019 with foreign terrorist offences and membership of a terrorist group, and was released on bail.[15] She denies being a member of the ISIS. Relatives assert that she had never been a member of ISIS and was just a sympathizer.

The charges against Smith include the allegation she was "a member of a terrorist group styling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) also known as Dawlat al-Iraq al-Islamiyya, Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Dawlat al Islamiya fi Iraq wa al Sham, otherwise known as 'Da'esh' and the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham".[16] On 17 April 2020, her trial was adjourned, until 17 July 2020, due to the COVID-19 shutdowns. She was allowed to return to live with her child.[17]

Smith's case was one profiled in a study by the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, as to whether individuals had been recruited to join ISIS solely through online coaching.[18] Smith confirmed to her interviewers she had travelled to Daesh-occupied Syria solely due to the online recruiting of a seemingly reliable online mentor. Smith told interviewers she was concerned over ISIS brutality, which he assured her was just anti-Muslim propaganda.

In May 2021, she won an appeal against a ban on entry to the United Kingdom, ahead of her trial in January 2022.[19] On 30 May 2022, Smith was found guilty and convicted of being a member of ISIS. She was found not guilty on the second charge of attempting to finance the terrorist organisation. She was sentenced to 15 months in prison.[20]

In popular culture[edit]

  • Irish folk-punk singer Jinx Lennon, who is also from Dundalk, included a song about Smith on his 2021 album Liferafts For Latchicos entitled "Bertie's Bodyguard".[21]

See also[edit]

  • Shamima Begum — a British-born woman who also went to Syria in 2015 to join the Islamic State and whose intent to return to the UK sparked a public debate about the repatriation of jihadists.
  • Brides of ISIL

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Returned Irish ISIS Bride Lisa Smith Has Had Four Husbands". Extra.ie. 2 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Lisa's story: Sometimes I'd like to be out clubbing -- but I wouldn't want to offend Allah". Irish Independent. 21 May 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  3. ^ Oliphant, Roland (9 March 2019). "Irish jihadi bride Lisa Smith evacuated from Baghuz named as ex-soldier who served on Taoiseach's private plane". No. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  4. ^ https://www.rte.ie/news/2022/0722/1311603-lisa-smith-sentenced-is/ Former Irish soldier Lisa Smith jailed for 15 months for IS membership] RTÉ News, 2022-07-22.
  5. ^ Lisa Smith found guilty of Islamic State membership, but cleared of financing terrorism RTÉ News, 2022-05-30.
  6. ^ Gareth Morgan, Tom Brady (9 March 2019). "Who is Lisa Smith? From 'party girl' to Muslim housewife in Syrian camp". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2019. At the time she was hoping to find a "suitable husband", and was already talking about resigning when her contract expired. It is now known that within a matter of months, she had traveled to Syria. Certainly, by 2015 she is believed to have been in Syria and is understood to have married a man there.
  7. ^ Tom Brady (10 March 2019). "Desperate mother Lisa Smith frantically tried to get cash to escape Isil Syria". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2019. As an Isil bride, officers consider Ms Smith to be a sympathiser rather than a fighter with Isil and this is expected to be taken into account when she is questioned after her return to Ireland.
  8. ^ Maeve Sheehan (10 March 2019). "Isil bride Lisa Smith: From flying the world with Taoiseach to war and misery in Syria". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  9. ^ Norma Costello (8 April 2019). "My struggles with depression brought me to Islam, says 'Isil bride' Smith". Irish Independent. Retrieved 8 April 2019. She later married Aslam, she says, because she was not allowed to live alone as a woman. But she regrets her decision and wants to return to Ireland, particularly for the sake of her young daughter.
  10. ^ O'Connell, Patrick (3 November 2019). "Irish Defence Forces launch secret mission to bring home Islamic State bride Lisa Smith and her child". Irish Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Lisa Smith's period of detention extended by 24 hours". RTE.ie. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  12. ^ Schams Elwazer; Peter Taggart; Tara John (1 December 2019). "Irish 'ISIS bride' Lisa Smith in custody in Dublin". CNN. Retrieved 23 May 2020. When asked whether she was prepared to be prosecuted when she returned to Ireland, Smith said: 'Well I know they'd strip me of my passport and stuff and I wouldn't travel and I'd be watched kinda -- but prison? I don't know. I'm already in prison.'
  13. ^ "Gardaí set to either charge or release Lisa Smith". Journal. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  14. ^ Chris Hook (2 December 2019). "US official warns Australia against stripping jihadis of citizenship". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 May 2020. The report comes as Irish ISIS bride Lisa Smith returned home to Dublin and was promptly arrested.
  15. ^ Reynolds, Paul (4 December 2019). "Lisa Smith charged with committing terrorist offence". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  16. ^ Andrew Phelan (18 April 2020). "Islamic State terror suspect Smith's case is delayed due to coronavirus restrictions". Herald.ie. Retrieved 23 May 2020. Judge Grainne Malone said there was "no difficulty" with Ms Smith not attending and remanded her on continuing bail in her absence, to appear in court again on July 17.
  17. ^ "ISIS Prisoners & Repatriations in a Time of COVID". The Media Line. 22 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020. Similarly Dr. Speckhard interviewed Irish Lisa Smith who escaped from Camp Ein Issa after the Turkish invasion in Fall 2019 and is now home with her child in Ireland.
  18. ^ Anne Speckhard; Molly Ellenberg (15 April 2020). "Is Internet Recruitment Enough to Seduce a Vulnerable Individual into Terrorism?". Homeland Security Today. Retrieved 23 May 2020. Lisa travelled twice to Syria, first to help beleaguered Syrians and then again to join ISIS, both times under the tutelage of her online mentor. The second time she recalls questioning Abu Hassan about the ISIS brutality she was also viewing online, 'I asked him. He said, 'No! No! This is just propaganda. They don't want people to make hijrah [travel to live under shariah law]...'
  19. ^ "Lisa Smith: IS-accused wins appeal over ban on entry to UK". BBC. 7 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Lisa Smith: Ex-soldier turned IS member gets 15 month sentence". BBC News. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  21. ^ "Berties Bodyguard". jinxlennon1.bandcamp.com. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
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