Accused mother of an IS fighter sees her son as a victim
Published: Monday, Aug 19th 2024, 16:10
العودة إلى البث المباشر
The mother of an IS fighter from Geneva has fully defended her son, who left for Syria in 2015, before the Federal Criminal Court. The woman and her husband sent money to their son and have been charged with violating the Al-Qaeda/IS law. The man did not appear in court for health reasons.
A small, petite woman aged 60 stood before the criminal court on Monday. She had no education and had worked in the hotel industry before receiving a full disability pension following an accident. She described her relationship with her three sons, including her son who had left for Syria, as "excellent".
In 2015, her son explained that he wanted to go on vacation and was "invited". According to her statements, his mother had not noticed any change in his behavior at the time, except that he no longer ate pork and went to the mosque. She stated that she had not known anything about the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia until then. She had only known that a civil war was raging in Syria.
Initially, mother and son spoke regularly on the phone, but later less and less often. After a while, the son said that he wanted to come home - together with his wife and their daughter.
IS fighters
The president of the court confronted the woman with copies of messages in which the son talks about blowing himself up in Switzerland. He also showed her photos of the son posing armed as an IS fighter. According to the accused, he was forced to do so.
When asked about the payments totaling more than 50,000 francs between 2016 and 2019, the mother insisted that she had wanted to support her son and not Syria or the war. "I wanted him to be able to leave, together with his wife and the baby." The last payments of around 40,000 francs are said to have been made for this purpose when the son and his family were in Kurdish captivity.
The woman was convinced that the photo of her son as an IS fighter was a fake. Her son could not do anything bad, he was gentle. She could never acknowledge that he was a terrorist. He had gone to Syria against his will. "They must have threatened him to do something to me." She came to the conclusion that her son would have been killed without her money.
Money transmitter questioned
On Monday afternoon, the court also questioned a woman who received an envelope containing 3,000 francs in May 2017. The witness confirmed to the court that the accused couple had handed her the envelope at Payerne VD railroad station.
She had taken part in it to help someone and without knowing what it was actually about. However, the woman did not want to say who she was doing a service for. She said she was afraid for herself and her family.
The criminal division must now clarify whether the father, who allegedly suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, can be summoned to a hearing. The proceedings can then be continued against both parents. Proceedings will also be opened against the son, who is still abroad. (Case SK.2024.4)
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