The women who left Germany to join ISIS and returned are standing trial. This
new CEP blog series follows the trials of some of these female returnees. An
overview of the state of prosecutions can be found here (available in English
and German) and recent developments in repatriation here.





<[link removed]>
<[link removed]>



ISIS Women In Court: Monika K. – Crowdfunding For The Islamic State?



Read ISIS Women in Court: Monika K. – Crowdfunding For The Islamic State? by
clickinghere
<[link removed]>
.



ISIS Women in Court: Monika K. – Crowdfunding For The Islamic State?

By Sofia Koller, Senior Research Analyst, CEP



The women who left Germany to join ISIS and returned are standing trial. This
new CEP blog series follows the trials of some of these female returnees. An
overview of the state of prosecutions can be foundhere
<[link removed]>
(available in English and German) and recent developments in repatriationhere
<[link removed]>
.



The story of Monika K. seems to both confirm and challenge the stereotype that
women in extremism and terrorism have no agency. First an obedient wife to an
ISIS fighter, five years later, Monika K. was able to crowdfund more than
$10,000 to get herself smuggled out of a refugee camp.



Since the start of the first trial against a German female ISIS returnee in
January 2015, more than 32 female returnees have been convicted (at least in
first instance) for their membership in or support of a foreign terrorist
organization, violation of the weapons control act, war crimes, and other
offences. On average, they received prison sentences of three years and eight
months, including sentences suspended on probation. While the first trials
received media attention (journalists, for example, reported about women’s role
in thegenocide
<[link removed]>
against the Yazidi minority), interest in the topic has died down. Other
issues are competing for headlines and the cases might appear similar. It is
true that some elements such as marrying a fighter and having children are
present in almost all cases. But there are unique aspects to each case that are
worth analyzing. In this blog, the author will share her observations during
several trials against female returnees in Germany. Although all willing German
women have reportedly beenrepatriated
<[link removed]>
from Northeast Syria, German men remain in Kurdish detention. Therefore, the
question of how to prosecute returnees remains very relevant.



This blog series starts with the case of Monika K., who was sentenced
<[link removed]>
before the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf on February 14, 2023.



From Germany to Syria and Back



Born in 1994, Monika K.’s radicalization process included well-known elements
such as broken social connections in her childhood, instability at home,
experiences of violence, and the longing for structure and belonging. She
converted to Islam as a teenager, reportedly drawn to the clear rules and
community, and subsequently married Mehdi J. under Islamic law. Following the
wedding, she terminated her apprenticeship—barely leaving the house and
following her husband’s interpretation of Islamic law. She increasingly began
to adhere to radical religious views influenced, for example, by videos of
prominent German SalafistPierre Vogel
<[link removed]>
. Eventually, the couple traveled to Syria and, in February 2014, Mehdi J.
pledged allegiance to ISIS. Monika K. lived in various locations in Syria and
Iraq and married several ISIS members before surrendering to the Syrian
Democratic Forces in March 2019. After several months in the al-Hol camp in
Northeast Syria, Monika K. managed to smuggle herself out and marry a Syrian
smuggler and alleged ISIS member Abu Omar in Idlib. In September 2020, she was
rearrested by the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and deported to Germany together with
her child.



A “Remarkable Trial”



Monika K.’s case is interesting for several reasons. First, according to her
lawyer, it is rare that a defendant gives such a lengthy plea early in the
trial, providing details on her radicalization and life with ISIS. Monika K.
indeed showed an in-depth understanding of her—quite complex—case
<[link removed]>
. As the presiding judge and prosecutors grow impatient with her unwillingness
to name some of her companions, her lawyer argues that she would only protect
people who had helped her.



Finances of a Refugee Camp



Second, Monika K. is one of the first female returnees charged and convicted
<[link removed]>
for her activities in the camps, where she ran a “donation network for female
members of IS.” Indeed, Monika K. admits to having partly managed the
crowdfunding campaign “Justice for Sisters” from June 2019. Within two weeks,
they received several thousand U.S. dollars and while the flow decreased and
accounts were frozen, Monika K. managed to obtain enough money to finance her
escape from al-Hol. She explains the complex system ofcrowdfunding
<[link removed]> via
social media postings, private chats, and international financial
services—including Western Union, MoneyGram, and the informal hawala system.
Monika K. claims that she was no longer pro-ISIS and only used the willingness
of ISIS sympathizers to send money but had no intention to support ISIS.
Indeed, researchersfind
<[link removed]> that in the
camps, “money tends to keep coming only if the women maintain their support for
[ISIS].” Yet, during the trial, Monika K. admits that she “knew how to talk
(…), especially to men.”



Villa with a Whirlpool



Third, Monika K.’s case exemplifies the challenges around “looting” charges.
She claims that in Hit, Iraq, she and Mehdi J. found an empty, but partly
damaged villa. They were told the house belonged to a rich family who had left
Iraq. They could live there but had to restore it themselves. The prosecutors,
however, argue that Monika K. had committed a war crime against property. After
the owners fled or were driven out, ISIS took over the house and gave it to
Mehdi J., strengthening ISIS’s claim to this territory. As a foreign ISIS
fighter, Mehdi J. did not need to find a house himself. Also, ISIS requested
the villa’s return after Mehdi J.’s death, but Monika K. refused to leave,
considering herself the rightful owner. In Germany, charges of “looting” have
been used in around 10 cases to prosecute female returnees and were part of the
arguments establishingtheir ISIS membership
<[link removed]>
.



But while the defendant herself as well as witnesses and chat contents
provided important insights, many questions remain. Where exactly was this
house? If Hit was reportedly mostly Sunni and ISIS typically took over homes of
“opposing parties,” who were the owners? Did Monika K. only pretend to be
pro-ISIS to raise funds? Was Abu Omar, her last husband, really an ISIS member?



On February 14, 2023, Monika K. was convicted for membership in a foreign
terrorist association according to §129a, b of the German criminal code and a
war crime against property according to §9 of Germany’s international criminal
code. She was sentenced to three years and six months according to juvenile
criminal code. The months she spent in Kurdish detention are considered in this
sentence. Other factors weighing in her favor included her plea; absence of
prior convictions; her reported disengagement; and plans to participate in an
exit program, start an apprenticeship, and focus on caring for her child. The
verdict is not yet legally binding and both sides can appeal.



Monika K. lived through the height and decline of ISIS, married several ISIS
members, received ideological training, spent months in Kurdish detention, and
smuggled herself to Idlib after having managed an ISIS crowdfunding campaign.
In her final statement, Monika K. says she regrets her decisions and is ready
to bear the consequences.



###





Unsubscribe
<[link removed]>