terrorism
69-year-old from Ibbenbüren convicted as an IS supporter
The 69-year-old defendant from Ibbenbüren sits next to her lawyer in the courtroom. At the beginning of the trial, the woman made a confession. photo
© Frank Christiansen/dpa
“Grandma, they surrounded us”: Her grandson went to Syria as an IS fighter and died there in 2019. She had previously sent him thousands of euros. Now there is a verdict against the accused.
A 69-year-old from Westphalia Ibbenbüren has been sentenced to a suspended prison sentence of one and a half years for supporting the terrorist group Islamic State (IS). The Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf found the woman guilty. The pensioner must also pay 1,500 euros to the state treasury.
She had confessed to having supported her grandson Kadir, who had joined IS as a fighter, with almost 7,000 euros. The accused repeatedly sent money to her grandson through IS financial agents in Turkey, Libya, Tunisia and Morocco.
The court assessed the fact that the German-Turkish woman was primarily concerned with the survival of her grandson as a mitigating factor. Her grandson was killed in fighting in Syria in spring 2019.
The verdict was preceded by an agreement with the Senate: In return for a confession, the court had promised the accused a suspended sentence of up to two years in prison. “I wanted him to come back,” explained the miner’s widow from North Rhine-Westphalia. But it was of no use: “Grandma, they surrounded us” was his last message. The verdict is not yet legally binding.