German woman convicted over her time with IS in Syria

A German woman accused of joining the Islamic State group in Syria after traveling there with her young daughter was convicted on Wednesday of participating in a terrorist organisation and other offenses.

The state court in Duesseldorf sentenced the 35-year-old, whom prosecutors have identified only as Nurten J. in line with German privacy rules, to four years and three months in prison.

The court said that she moved to Syria in February 2015 with her daughter, then aged 3, and joined IS, marrying a high-ranking member of the extremist group and living in several apartments whose inhabitants had been driven out by IS.

The defendant had a Yazidi woman, who was kept by another woman as a slave, work for her when the latter visited, the court said.

It convicted her of participating in a foreign terrorist organisation, neglecting her duties of care toward a minor and war crimes against property, along with weapons offenses and being an accessory to a crime against humanity.

The court said that, in sentencing the defendant, it took into account her confession and the fact that she had apologized to the Yazidi woman, who joined the trial as a co-plaintiff as allowed under German law.

Prosecutors have said that Nurten J. and her family were captured by Kurdish forces after IS lost the territory it held in Syria. She was arrested when she returned to Germany in July.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected