Mother only wants to have supported son and not IS
Published: Monday, Aug 19th 2024, 12:40
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The Criminal Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court has begun questioning the mother of a Geneva resident who converted to Islam and joined the Islamic State (IS) terrorist militia. The father, who is absent for health reasons, will have to appear in court at a later date. The parents sent their son money to Syria.
For this reason, they have been charged with supporting IS. The criminal division has decided to question the mother immediately. The father will be summoned again within ten days.
The small, petite 60-year-old had no training and worked in the hotel industry. She has been receiving a full disability pension since an accident. Her relationship with her three sons, including the one who left for Syria, is "excellent", she said in court.
In 2015, her son is said to have stated that he wanted to go on vacation and was "invited". According to her, his mother had not noticed any change in his behavior, except that he no longer ate pork and went to the mosque. She said that until then she had known nothing about IS or Syria, "except that there was a war there".
Son as a fighter
The mother and son initially spoke on the phone every day, then less and less often. He had said that he wanted to go home, had got married and that the couple had a young daughter.
The chairman then presented copies of messages in which the son talks about blowing himself up in Switzerland. He also showed photos of the son posing armed as an IS fighter. The defendant said that her son had been forced to do so. "He is my son. Maybe he was threatened."
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, not Syria or the war. "I wanted him to be able to leave with his wife and baby."
Couriers had collected the money and her son had confirmed receipt. The last, very high payments were to be used to release him and his family. The picture of the son with the gun - that was fake. Her son could do nothing wrong. He was gentle and she could not allow him to be labeled a terrorist.
The court will hear a witness this afternoon.
(Case SK.2024.4)
©Keystone/SDA
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