The Trial Against the Islamic State Woman – Broken on the witness stand



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– Sorry, can I have questions instead? says the woman accused of terrorism (30) after a few minutes on the witness stand.

He initially told Judge Ingmar Nestor Nilsen that he would explain himself freely, but that he will stop after a short period of time, while he is in the process of explaining himself about the time until he left for Syria in the winter of 2013.

– Radicalized as of 2011

Prosecutor Geir Evanger used his lengthy introduction to outline the entire period covered by the indictment, from the summer of 2013 to the spring of 2019, and well; He believes that the woman, with a fairly normal upbringing in Groruddalen, became radicalized, first in the religious group Islam.net, starting in 2011.

SHE KNEW: Prosecutor Geir Evanger says the Islamic State woman knew what she was looking for when she traveled to Syria. Video: NRK
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– She became more and more religious and began to wear the hijab, then the niqab, and finally acquired a more extreme mentality. He joined the Prophet’s Ummah in 2012, Evanger said.

The Prophet’s Ummah is the Islamist organization led by Ubaydullah Hussain, who was very active in recruiting Norwegian foreign fighters for IS. Hussain has been sentenced to nine years in prison and many other members have died or are in prison.

Secularly dressed

The weaver of approx. 150 cm sits in white pants and a shirt on the witness stand, with black-rimmed glasses and half-length hair. Little reminiscent of the most famous images of her, in a niqab at Al Hol camp.

It is clear that she fell in love with later foreign warrior Bastian Vasquez de Skien in the fall of 2012.

– We also had a physical relationship, in the period before his fall, explains the defendant.

Vasquez traveled to Syria that fall, joining the al-Qaeda-linked group Jabhat al-Nusra. The two were married via the internet shortly thereafter, in January 2013.

Woman accused of terrorism: - Denies criminal guilt

Woman accused of terrorism: – Denies criminal guilt



– Go to Egypt

It is also clear that the woman eventually went to meet her new husband, but explains that the original plan was to travel to Egypt. That was also what he told his parents.

– When did you decide to travel to Syria? Judge Nilsen asks.

– I was so in love. I just wanted to be with him and take care of him, the woman replies.

He previously explained that he traveled to Syria via Sweden and Turkey. He brought with him between 40,000 and 60,000 crowns.

– What was the reason why you decided to start the trip from Sweden and not from Gardermoen?

– Bastian told me. I didn’t think much of it.

- IN LOVE: The defendant explains that she was very in love with the Norwegian foreign warrior Bastian Vasquez (right).  Here along with ia several other Norwegian foreigners in Syria.  Photo: Police / NTB

– LOVED: The defendant explains that she was very much in love with the Norwegian foreign warrior Bastian Vasquez (right). Here along with ia several other Norwegian foreigners in Syria. Photo: Police / NTB
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– I have a different impression

She describes herself as “pretty radical” at the time.

– If it weren’t for the fact that Bastian was there, he wouldn’t have come down, she says.

The 30-year-old says things looked different when she was in Syria and saw how the war and her husband’s involvement played out.

-If I hadn’t been so in love, I wouldn’t have come down, she emphasizes.

According to the indictment, Vasquez was killed while working on bombs in April 2015. The woman soon married a new man, and then another, after her second husband was killed. She had a child each with the last husbands.

LOOK NOW: The trial against the IS woman begins on Monday, March 1 at the Oslo District Court. Three and a half days have been set aside for your free explanation.
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Prosecutor Evanger thinks it should be obvious to the woman where he traveled. She also believes that by working as a homemaker and babysitter, she made it possible for all three husbands to fight for the Islamic State.

Bullying

Evanger asks about growing up. The 30-year-old explains that she was bullied for years, up to the tenth grade.

– Can I have a break? he asks while crying on the witness stand. The court takes this into account and takes a twenty minute break while the woman is comforted by the defenders.

The crucial point is whether the 30-year-old “participated in” or “was forced to” his actions during his time in the ISIS-controlled area in Syria for six years.

– We believe that she had such a good knowledge of Islam and religion that she knew that by leaving she would be totally subordinate. This will be a test topic, Prosecutor Evanger said in his introduction.

- I wanted to return home from Syria from day one.

– I wanted to go home from Syria from day one.



– It is not a crime to give birth

The woman’s detainee, Nils Christian Nordhus, for his part, believes that the woman’s role as a babysitter and homemaker does not qualify as guilty under the indictment.

– We do not disagree that contributions in the form of a spouse can be important. What we believe is that the penal code for participation in terrorist organizations does not affect marriage, childcare and work at home, Nordhus said in his response to Evanger.

Nordhus further believes that the 30-year-old woman was forced to remain in Syria, while she herself wanted to travel home to Norway, which she achieved after the government intervened in January last year to end the FRP government cooperation as a result.

– Giving birth cannot be punishable under any circumstances. What he has done is take the children out of the terrorist regime. That is what he has done. It has not contributed children to jihadism, it has taken them away, Nordhus stressed.

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