Danish-Bosnian woman gets four-year sentence for aiding Islamic State in Syria

COPENHAGEN, Feb 28 (Reuters) Further information from Nyheder TV.  A Danish-Bosnian woman evacuated from a Syrian detention camp in 2021 was sentenced by a Danish district court on Tuesday to four years in prison and stripped of her Danish citizenship for aiding Islamic State militants..(she) has dual citizenship – Danish and Bosnian. Thus, she will not become stateless

The 38-year-old traveled to Syria with her husband and their children in February 2015 and worked as a housewife in the Islamic State stronghold Raqqa. Elmina Aljic, who still holds a Bosnian citizenship, admitted to the court that she aided the militant group by working as a housewife,  among other places, the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa, according to her lawyer. In doing so, she helped maintain ISIS.

This was decided by the Court in Kolding on Tuesday. The woman … is also deported from Denmark with a permanent entry ban.

Based on correspondence between the woman and family members in Denmark, special prosecutor Bettina Wagner believes that the woman has not clearly distanced herself from ISIS.

“It is an aggravating circumstance that she wanted to stay and that she sympathized with and supported ISIS,” the special prosecutor said in a court hearing Monday.

There was disagreement in court about both the length of the sentence and the revocation of Danish citizenship. Seven voted for the woman to be sentenced to four years in prison, while there were five votes for four and a half years in prison.  Similarly, there were seven votes in favour of denying the woman Danish citizenship and expelling her, while five voted against. When the majority decides, the sentence ends at four years in prison and disqualification from Danish citizenship.

According to special prosecutor Bettina Wagner, Elmina Aljic has asked for time to think about whether she wants to appeal the verdict to the High Court.