Two sisters who grew up in a Somalian refugee family in Norway, but traveled to Syria where they joined radical IS terrorists 11 years ago, are now seeking release from prison in Oslo. Their defense attorneys claim they were too young (19 and 16) and vulnerable to understand the consequences of their decisions.
Their trial in the Oslo County Court ended Monday after seven weeks of arguments over why and how they ended up taking part in the terror organization IS, married IS warriors, had children and then spent years in a refugee camp for women who practiced strict Islamic law. They were ultimately brought home to Norway at taxpayer expense, their children were placed in foster homes and they’ve since been in custody on terrorism charges.
They now claim they had little choice when they arrived in Syria but to join IS, and that it was safest to marry a warrior. They claim they only wanted to help Muslims and soon wanted to return home, but it wasn’t possible. They fended off charges of how they’d punished women who were against IS, tried to recruit friends in Norway to travel to Syria, and even start up a training camp for women in Syria. “It must be allowed to try to survive,” one of the women’s defense attorneys claimed in court.
They face jail terms of four years for the older sister and two for the younger, if found guilty of the terrorism charges against them. A decision is expected in late January.
NewsinEnglish.no staff