Former Defence Forces soldier in bid to have Islamic State terror charges dropped

ireland
Former Defence Forces Soldier In Bid To Have Islamic State Terror Charges Dropped
Lawyers for Louth woman Lisa Smith, 39, have made an application for the case against her to be dismissed. Photo: PA Images
Share this article

By James Ward, PA

A former member of the Defence Forces is seeking to have charges of being a member of so-called Islamic State (Isis), and financing terrorism dropped at the Special Criminal Court.

Lawyers for Louth woman Lisa Smith (39) have made an application for the case against her to be dismissed.

Advertisement

It is expected that they will argue there is not sufficient evidence to convict their client on any of the charges.

The case received widespread attention in 2019 when it emerged that Smith, a former Air Corps soldier who had worked on the Government jet, had been detained in Syria over alleged links to Isis.

Smith was arrested at Dublin Airport in 2019 on suspicion of terrorist offences after returning from Turkey in November with her young daughter.

Advertisement

She had travelled to Syria a number of years ago after she converted to Islam.

Smith is charged under Section Six of the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005 which makes it an offence to join a foreign unlawful organisation.

It is alleged that between October 28th, 2015 and December 1st, 2019 at a location outside the State, she was a member of a terrorist group styling itself as the Islamic State.

She has also been accused of financing terrorism, by sending €800 in assistance by Western Union money transfer to a named individual in 2015.

Advertisement

She has denied the charges.

The trial was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, but the non-jury court will first have to deal with pre-trial application.

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com