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The Independent
11-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Ex-Irish soldier's IS membership conviction falls short of Irish law, court told
The conviction of a former Irish soldier for membership of the so-called Islamic State (IS), because she travelled to Syria in 2015, 'falls short of Irish law', a Dublin court has heard. Lisa Smith, 43, from Dundalk in Co Louth, is appealing against her conviction for membership of the IS terror group at the Court of Appeal. The former Defence Forces member was found guilty of IS membership in 2022, but was cleared of financing terrorism, after a nine-week trial at Dublin's non-jury Special Criminal Court. Smith, a convert to Islam, went to Syria in 2015 after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims to travel there. She had pleaded not guilty to charges of membership of IS and providing funds to benefit the group. Smith was sentenced to 15 months in prison and lost an appeal against the severity of the sentence in 2023. Opening the case at the Court of Appeal on Thursday, her barrister Michael O'Higgins SC said there was no 'smoking gun or burning match' that Smith did anything for IS while she lived in Syria. He said it was not possible to join a terrorist organisation by 'osmosis' and said she had led a 'totally anonymous' life as a housewife during her time there, where she was subjected to serious assaults by her former husband. Continuing his submissions on Friday, Mr O'Higgins compared Smith's IS membership conviction with the way membership of the IRA and of organised crime gangs is defined. He said it was 'a flawed approach' to conclude someone was an IS member because they travelled to an area where Sharia law is applied. 'To put women in jail for cooking and cleaning for their husband, and believing what their husband believes in, is not a legal basis for convicting a person of serious offences,' he said. He said that none of the women in communities in Northern Ireland who 'submitted to the jurisdiction of paramilitaries' and benefited from the 'stamping out' of antisocial behaviour in their area would be deemed IRA members. 'This passive business of living in the house and living among them falls way short of participating in the group,' Mr O'Higgins said. 'Not always but invariably the conduct that is at the heart of an IRA membership (case), does involve moving weapons, it's crime involved, it's hiring houses for the purpose of furthering some IRA operation down the line. 'All involve acts that are overtly criminal or lawful acts with the purposes of obtaining a criminal result,' he said, such as renting a car to be used in a getaway. Mr Justice John Edwards said that Smith went to an IS-controlled part of Syria 'desiring to submit to their jurisdiction and live under their regime, is that not enough?' Mr O'Higgins replied that it was not and the argument 'falls short of Irish law'. He said there are several steps to joining an organisation, such as wanting to join it, the organisation accepting you, and then joining it. He said if you bring that argument to its logical conclusion, what does it mean for organised criminal gangs that operate in communities, sometimes linked to local boxing clubs. 'At what point do members of the community become involved in a criminal gang?' he said. 'There must be strict criteria, there must be moral culpability, there must be legal culpability.' He said there was no evidence that Smith made bay'ah, a ceremony in which a person swears an oath to the caliph, not IS, nor evidence she received special treatment or benefits. He added: 'Even if you were some type of Hollywood celebrity walking around wearing the outer normality of the regime as a badge of honour, if you weren't doing it as a part of membership duties, if you did that all day every day, it could never make you a member, especially if the life you led there was completely and utterly anonymous.' He said the UK had criminalised travel to parts of Syria, and while an EU directive had been prepared to criminalise travel, that legislation has not been enacted 'in any way shape or form' in Ireland, meaning that Smith's travel was lawful.
BBC News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Turkey protests: Journalist arrests fuel fears for democracy
It was early morning on 23 March when the police came to Yasin Akgul's door in Istanbul – while his children were still in bed. Just hours before, the Turkish photojournalist had returned home from covering mass anti-government protests. Now he was a wanted man."I went to the door and saw there was a lot of police," he says. "They said they had an arrest order for me but gave me no details. My son was awake, and I couldn't even tell him what was happening as I didn't get it myself."Akgul, 35, has seen "plenty of action" in more than a decade as a photojournalist with the AFP news agency – from war-torn Syria to IS-controlled Iraq. On home soil in Turkey, he has been beaten by the police several times while taking pictures, he says - including on World Peace Day – and has been detained "so many times".But being arrested at home was a first."A chill fell over the house," he tells us. "In my work, at the protests, I have seen a lot of violence, and tear gas, but having the police in my home, I felt more afraid."Akgul was one of seven journalists arrested in dawn raids. All had been covering the protests sparked by the arrest of the city's opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu – the main political rival of Turkey's long-time leader, Recep Tayyip protesters say the mayor's arrest over corruption charges, which he denies, is politically motivated – an attempt to end his hopes of becoming the country's next authorities had banned the protests but had been unable to stop is facing charges of "taking part in illegal rallies and marches". He says the aim is clear – to stop others taking pictures of the biggest unrest in Turkey in more than a was in the thick of it – gas mask on – when he took some of the most iconic images of the night. His photos show a man dressed as a whirling dervish (a dancing mystic) being pepper-sprayed by a line of riot police – striking images of a battle for the soul of Turkey that went around the world, before landing him behind bars."This message is to all the journalists," he says. "Don't shoot (take pictures), don't speak, don't film. They are making other journalists afraid that if they go back into the field, they could face the same thing." The fact that he works for an international news agency, AFP, makes that message even louder, he has been received and understood."After we were arrested, many freelance journalists could not shoot the next day. Everyone was afraid," he told us, sitting on his couch at home with his wife Hazal by his side. Their three-year-old daughter, Ipek, lay on the couch, holding her father's hand. Their son, Umut, eight, listened on, wearing a Harry Potter-style hat and believes those arrested were carefully chosen – among them seasoned photojournalists. "They are trying to remove us from the front lines," he of his friends – fellow journalists - have already removed themselves, leaving Turkey because they faced charges or feared they now, his family is among many here worrying that they could be torn apart by the courts. The government says the judiciary is independent. Human rights groups say judges are under political control, and Turkish democracy is being eroded, year on Erdogan – who has many loyal supporters - retains a tight grip on the levers of power. He says the protests are "street terrorism" and accuses the opposition of leading "a movement of violence". He has predicted that the demonstrations will Maybe not. As Yasin Akgul was being released from prison on the morning of 27 March, the BBC's Mark Lowen was being deported from Istanbul, after 17 hours in detention. He was given papers saying he was "a threat to public order". The authorities later said – after the BBC reported the story – that he had been deported because he lacked not only journalists who are at risk. One of the mayor's own lawyers was detained briefly "on fictitious grounds", according to a social media post that Ekrem Imamoglu sent from his cell in a high security prison. His legal team fight on, but they too are feeling the chill. "The right to a defence, I think, is sacred. It's part of a fair trial that your lawyers should feel comfortable and safe," says Ece Guner, who is both a lawyer, and an adviser to the mayor."It would be a lie to say that no-one is worried, to be honest," she tells us, "but we still feel we have a duty to our country to say the truth, to preserve democracy, and the rule of law." Where does Turkish democracy stand now? Some here fear it's on its last the past two weeks or so – since the protests began on 19 March - around 2,000 people have been detained, according to Turkey's interior of those are students and members of Generation Erdogan – those who have only known the 22-year rule of Turkey's long-time leader. Arresting them sends another message."It's a huge warning to young people, a loud and clear warning – don't get involved," says Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey Director for Human Rights says the government has also been "lashing out in all directions against perceived opposition" from any quarter, not just the mayor's Republic People's Party (CHP), which is the main opposition party here."Public bodies are under threat," she says. "If they speak out and use their voices with authority, there is an attempt to stifle them immediately."She expects that the coming months will see continuing attempts to limit the protests, and "render them invisible".That won't be hard given the government's extensive control of the media here. The huge demonstrations held so far didn't lead the bulletins on state TV and pro-government outlets, and when they were shown the protesters were referred to as most recent rally - last weekend - attracted several hundred thousand people, at the least. The opposition claims more than two million people families brought several generations with them to hear calls for change under a warm sun. We saw the usual heavy police presence but this time there was no tear gas, or rubber bullets. This rally was not banned. Among the throng we met Alp, 32, who said he had come to defend democracy while there was still time. We didn't ask for a surname – many protesters prefer not to give theirs. He said he was concerned about the risk of arrest. "The police are collecting students, and women and working people like us," he said. "So, all of us are in danger right now. But we have to stand up. That's our only choice. If we don't do anything, if we just watch, the battle is lost already."The opposition is promising to keep up its protests and its campaign on the streets. It's pressing for presidential elections to be brought forward from 2028. Opposition polls suggest President Erdogan would lose to Imamoglu – if he were freed from jail and able to run as a president himself should not be able to run - as he is already in his second term - but there's speculation here that he could try to change the opposition insists there will be weekly protests from now on. If so, it looks certain that the arrests will unclear if Yasin Akgul's case will go to trial, but the charges against him remain. Despite the danger he hopes to keep telling the story here."Someone needs to do this job," he says, "and I think I am one of those people."
The Guardian
07-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Inside the Islamic State prisons the west is trying to forget
A few weeks ago, Michael Safi travelled to north-east Syria, an area controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Here, suspected foreign fighters for Islamic State – including those from Britain – have for years been imprisoned without charge and with no idea of when they would be released. Few prisoners in the camp say they are IS members. Michael and fellow journalist, Will Christou, spoke to a former British surgeon from Leicester who told a surprising story of being 'tricked' into crossing into Syria from Turkey. They also met an Australian prisoner, who admitted to being an IS member, and whose family for years did not know his whereabouts. The Kurdish forces running the prison want foreign governments to take their fighters back. Many have refused – they prefer to forget about these IS legacies. They would also like to forget about the women and children from former IS-controlled territory who are being held in camps in this area, and who come from countries around the world. Nearby, meanwhile, IS fighters still lurk – and still carry out attacks, journalist Baderkhan Ahmad tells Michael. Two years ago, they attacked the Panorama detention centre and hundreds died in the two-week battle; 400 prisoners are still unaccounted for. Now, global political events are making the prison and camp organisers worry they are even more vulnerable. They fear the Trump administration will pull US troops out of Syria, while USAid cuts have meant there were days when no food or water arrived at the camps housing women and children. Although the funding has been extended, it is not clear for how long.
