Any chances of Isis bride Lisa Smith facing justice here are remote indeed
AT ONE stage Islamic State, under that ferocious religious nutcase Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi – thankfully not with us anymore – controlled an area in Iraq and Syria that was larger than the entire island of Ireland. This brutal entity enslaved thousands of women and children and carried out mass rape and murder. It was medieval barbarity at its most extreme. And it was into all that madness that Irish woman and so-called Isis bride Lisa Smith arrived in 2015.
There’s no knowing exactly what she got up to during her time there – whether she took part in, helped, aided or abetted any of the outrageous human rights abuses and criminality that took place.
There are reports that she may have been involved in training children in weapons because of her expertise from the time she spent as a member of our Defence Forces. She clearly knew how to use military weapons.
Understandably, her story and imminent return to Ireland with her little daughter has captured a great deal of public attention. Some of the commentary, however, has bordered on the frantic, lacking any sense of proportionality. When she returns, Lisa Smith will have a lot of explaining to do.
But the prospect of ever seeing her in court to answer for anything she may have done while living in the Islamic State is remote. If she is charged, it will be the first real test of the Criminal Justice Terrorist Act 2005 which allows for terrorist-type activity outside the state to be tried here. The difficulties in securing reliable witnesses to give evidence here are obvious, so even if she is charged, securing a conviction will prove challenging.