Iraqi court sentences German woman to death for helping Isil

AN IRAQI court condemned a German woman to death by hanging, after finding her guilty of belonging to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

She is one of hundreds of foreign jihadists held by Iraqi authorities, who in December announced the defeat of Isil after a gruelling three-year battle.

She is believed to be the first European woman to be sentenced to death in Iraq in relation to Isil.

The woman, who is of Moroccan origin, was sentenced for providing “logistical support and helping the terrorist group to carry out crimes”, said Abdel Settar Bayraqdar, a court spokesman.

“The accused admitted during interrogations that she left Germany for Syria, then Iraq to join Isil with her two daughters, who married members of the terrorist organisation,” he said.

The woman, who was not identified, has 30 days to appeal, after which she could be executed, said Ezzedine al-mohammadi, a legal expert.

A judicial source said that one of the woman’s two daughters had been killed while with the jihadists.

The German media has reported that a German named Lamia K and her daughter left Mannheim in August 2014. They were arrested by Iraqi forces during the final stages of the battle to oust Isil from its stronghold Mosul last July. At least two other German women are also in prison in Iraq.

One of them is Linda Wenzel, who was found in the rubble of Mosul.

In December, Human Rights Watch reported that 7,374 people had been found guilty and 92 executed since 2014. In the province surrounding Mosul alone, more than 4,000 jihadists were arrested, Iraqi police said.

German intelligence services say 910 people left Germany to join jihadist groups in Syria or Iraq.

About a third of them returned to the country, 70 of whom were considered combatants, while 145 were killed.