ISIS supporter jailed for department store stabbing in Switzerland

From the National and The Straits Times

Switzerland’s federal criminal court on Monday convicted a Swiss-Italian woman of attempted murder and ties to the terrorist group ISIS after she stabbed two women in a department store.

The attacker, who is in her late 20s but was not identified by name, was sentenced to nine years in prison. . . was suspended so she can undergo psychiatric treatment.

The verdict comes after a four-day trial in Bellinzona over the November 24, 2020, attack in the Manor chain department store in the southern Swiss city of Lugano.

The woman had suddenly lunged at two random women shopping at the store, attempting to slit their throats.

According to the indictment from the Office of the Attorney General, the accused “acted wilfully and with particular ruthlessness”, shouted “Allahu akbar (God is greatest)” and “I will avenge the Prophet Mohammed”, and declared “I am here for IS”, the Islamic State group.

In its ruling, the court said the attacker had used a knife to try to decapitate the victims “while praising ISIS”. “For the court, the defendant acted with a total absence of scruples, a particularly odious motive and goal, and showed no signs of wanting to repent or make serious apologies, either during the investigation or court proceedings,” the court said.

She had “acted in cold blood, had planned her actions and decided what weapon to use, and where to buy it”

The attacker was also convicted by the court of “repeated illegal practice of prostitution,” the court said. Regulated prostitution is allowed in Switzerland. ??? Weird!