No. 47/2023
The 5th Senate for Criminal Matters (State Security Senate [Staatsschutzsenat]) of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt/Main today found 33-year-old Laura H. guilty in three cases for membership in a foreign terrorist organization, in one case in coincidence with a violation of a prohibition of provision (Section 18 (1) Foreign Trade and Payments Act) and in another case in coincidence with a breach of duty of care or upbringing and sentenced her to a total term of imprisonment of two years. The Senate suspended the execution of this total term of imprisonment.
In today's oral statement of the reasons for the judgment, the Senate stated that, based on the main hearing held on ten days, it had established the following:
The defendant, who had converted to Islam at the age of 17 and subsequently turned to a radical Islamist respectively Salafist faith, married Ahmed D. in spring 2011 according to Islamic ritual. At that time, Ahmed D. had been under investigation by the British authorities for contacts with the terrorist organization Al-Shabab. Due to an entry ban to England, the couple moved to Egypt, where Ahmed D. was arrested in the course of the overthrow of Mursi's government. Immediately after his release from Egyptian custody, Ahmed D. was again arrested in Turkey on suspicion of terrorist activities based on an Interpol warrant issued by the United States. After his extradition to the U.S. was denied, he was detained pending deportation. In fall 2014, he arrived in Syria as part of a prisoner exchange. There, he joined the terrorist organization "IS". He worked for the organization as a fighter and later performed administrative activities.
In spring of 2016, the defendant decided to travel to Syria in order to also join the terrorist organization "IS" and to live a life according to the rules of the "IS caliphate" with Ahmed D. and their two sons, born in 2012 and 2013. Following this decision, in may 2016 together with her two sons she set out with the help of smugglers on a journey to the "IS" territory, where she arrived in mid-July 2016. From July 2016 to April 2017, she lived with Ahmed D. and both their sons in Raqqa. The rent for their joint apartment was partially paid by "IS". In addition, the family received financial contributions from the organization. The defendant integrated herself into the organization’s daily life, participated in an information meeting of the women's battalion "Katiba Nusaiba", attended an "Aqida" course (faith course) and successfully passed the examination. In addition, the defendant engaged in entrepreneurial activities by selling homemade cakes and desserts in "IS" markets with the approval and according to the specifications of the organization. Furthermore, she managed the household for Ahmed D. and thus enabled him to concentrate on his activities for "IS".
In February and March 2017, she was significantly responsible for a transaction of €27,220 from Germany to the territory of the "IS". She forwarded an amount of €24,620 to a friend, another "IS" member and later member of the "Katiba Nusaiba" whilst an amount of €2,600 was intended for the defendant herself. Subsequently, the defendant used this money to cover her living expenses while she remained in the "IS" area.
The increasingly dangerous situation in Raqqa prompted the defendant to go to Hama. From there, she hoped to be able to leave the "IS" area with the help of a human trafficker. Even after Ahmed D. was killed in a bomb attack in May 2017, the defendant, however, continued to remain in the "IS" area. She married another "IS" member named Atiba Joel G.. In the period that followed, the defendant, her two sons and her daughter, who was born in August 2017, were constantly on the run from the battlefront that stretched along the "IS" retreat route in direction of Baghuz. At the end of 2018, she finally managed to escape the "IS"-ruled area and surrendered to Kurdish security forces. Until her repatriation to Germany in November 2019, she lived in al-Hawl refugee camp run by the autonomous Kurdish self-government near the northern Syrian-Iraqi border.
While in Syria, her two sons had initially been exposed to airstrikes on Raqqa at least in February 2017. In Hama, they were in close proximity when their father was killed in a bomb attack. Until they were apprehended by Kurdish security forces, they were constantly on the run from the battlefront and exposed to the horrors and dangers of war.
The Senate stated, that in sentencing, despite the gravity of the offenses, the defendant's comprehensive and remorseful confession had to be taken into account to a considerable extent. In addition, the Senate considered the following circumstances to be of considerable mitigating effect: that the offenses were committed four and a half years ago, that the defendant had already very clearly renounced the "IS" and its Salafist ideology in the al-Hawl camp though risking her own life by doing so, that she had cooperated with German and foreign authorities, that she had proven herself without complaint since her repatriation to Germany three and a half years ago and that she has reintegrated herself into society with her children since then.
As to the suspension of the total term of imprisonment, the Senate stated that it was justified by the fact that the defendant, who had no previous convictions, has led an impeccable life since committing the offenses. Moreover, the Senate came to the conclusion that during the almost one-year detention in the al-Hawl camp under the most difficult living conditions, the wrongs she had committed had already been made clear to the defendant - at least in part. In addition, the defendant has shown a consistently positive development after entering the Federal Republic.
The judgment is not final yet. The defendant has waived her right to appeal. The Federal Public Prosecutor General (Generalbundesanwalt) may appeal against the judgment to the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof [BGH]).
Higher Regional Court Frankfurt/Main, judgment of July 17, 2023, 5-2 StE 7/22 - 7 -2/22
English version: dep. press spokeswoman Dr. Kerstin Wierse