Thursday, January 02, 2020

'ISIS bride' Lisa Smith is released on bail for New Year after being charged with terror offences when she returned to Ireland from her time in Syria

  • Lisa Smith arrested at Dublin Airport on suspicion of terror offence in November
  • She was charged with with membership of an unlawful organisation after arrest
  • Suspected ISIS bride was escorted out of Limerick Prison at 5.30pm on Tuesday
An Irish woman suspected of having married an ISIS fighter has been released on bail after being charged with terror offences.
Lisa Smith was escorted from Limerick Prison at around 5.30pm on Tuesday evening, an Irish Prison spokesman confirmed.
The 38-year-old, a former member of the Irish Defence Forces, was granted bail following an appeal hearing at Cloverhill District Court in Dublin earlier this month.
Ms Smith had been arrested at Dublin Airport on suspicion of terrorist offences after returning from Turkey with her two-year-old daughter in November.
Pictured: Lisa Smith
Pictured: Ms Smith in a Syrian refugee camp
Lisa Smith (pictured, left, before her conversion to Islam and, right, in a Syrian refugee camp) has been released on bail after being charged with terror offences
She was then charged with membership of an unlawful organisation 'styling itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant', under 2005 terror legislation. Ms Smith had previously been refused bail on the grounds that she could be a flight risk.  
The mother, who is suspected of having married an ISIS fighter, travelled to war-torn Syria in 2015 after converting to Islam where she married and had a child. 
She and her daughter had allegedly been held in a Syrian camp since February 2019 after escaping the terror group in Baghouz, the Sun reported.
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs were reportedly then sent to Turkey's border to retrieve Ms Smith, from where she returned to Ireland with her child. 
The young girl, whose father has died, is now in the custody of Ms Smith's family. 
The mother, who is suspected of having married an ISIS fighter, travelled to war-torn Syria in 2015 after converting to Islam where she married and had a child (Pictured in Syria in March)
The mother, who is suspected of having married an ISIS fighter, travelled to war-torn Syria in 2015 after converting to Islam where she married and had a child (Pictured in Syria in March)
Lisa Smith, a former member of the Irish Defence Forces, was flown to Dublin in November while police waited for her arrival
Lisa Smith, a former member of the Irish Defence Forces, was flown to Dublin in November while police waited for her arrival
Earlier in December, the solicitor representing Ms Smith claimed she was not a member of a terrorist organisation.
Darragh Mackin said the current evidence against her is 'inherently weak' and does not point to any terrorist offences.
'Going to a particular location is not the terrorist offence, you must be actively engaged in a terrorist organisation or the terrorist grouping,' he added.
'Lisa has categorically denied being involved in any terrorist offence or terrorist group and at this stage there's absolutely no evidence that she's been involved in any organisation or terrorist group.'
Ms Smith has continually denied training young women to fight for ISIS and says she never killed anyone. 
Lisa (third from right, circled) pictured meeting then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern while in the Irish army in 2008
Lisa (third from right, circled) pictured meeting then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern while in the Irish army in 2008
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, from the refugee camp in Syria where she was living until recently, Lisa said: 'I want myself an actual caliphate, as in a Muslim country. Not like a group, or a brutality group.'
Ms Smith is originally from Dundalk in Co Louth, close to the Irish border with Northern Ireland. 
The mother-of-one has been remanded on bail to appear before Dublin District Court again on January 8.
She must live at an address in the northeast and sign on at a Garda station twice per day as part of strict bail conditions set by the courts. 
Ms Smith must also obey a curfew and remain indoors between 8pm and 7am, RTE reported. She is also banned from accessing the internet or using any social media. 

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