Former Irish soldier Lisa Smith led a “totally anonymous” life while living in Syria and there was no “smoking gun” that she did anything for the so-called Islamic State (IS) terror group, her lawyer told a Dublin court as she appeals against her conviction for being a member of the unlawful organisation.
Smith, 43, from Dundalk in Co Louth, is outlining her case at the Court of Appeal.
The ex-Defence Forces member was found guilty of IS membership in 2023 but was cleared of financing terrorism after a nine-week trial at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court.
Smith, a convert to Islam, went to Syria in 2015 after terrorist leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi called on Muslims to travel to the country.
She had pleaded not guilty to charges of membership of IS and providing funds to benefit the group.
Smith was handed 15 months in prison and lost an appeal over the severity of the sentence.
Arguing at the Court of Appeal, her barrister Michael O’Higgins said that Smith travelled to Syria out of a religious obligation, but that the court had dismissed that as “irrelevant”.
Mr O’Higgins said the court cannot ignore and deem inadmissible what the person’s motive was to travel to Syria, adding that it was a “flaw” to assume Smith was going there to do something unlawful.
He said that she led a “totally anonymous” life in Syria, adding that there was no “smoking gun or burning match” that she did anything for IS.
The court was told that Smith shopped and bought food and was subjected to serious assaults during her time there.
Mr O’Higgins questioned what membership of an organisation looked like, saying that membership is not nor could ever include “avid supporters” of a group.
He said that membership did not include someone who agreed with an unlawful organisation’s aims, or members of a community who benefited from the actions of the illegal organisation.
Mr O’Higgins gave the example of paramilitaries in Northern Ireland who ran a parallel justice system during the Troubles.
He said that some communities benefited from a decrease in anti-social behaviour but that those people did not become members of the IRA or UDA.
Mr O’Higgins told the court that a fanatic who attacked a former RUC station or planted a bomb or did anything that mirrored the actions of the IRA did not automatically become a member.
The court was told that membership is not a state of mind or a virus.
He added that membership is not done by osmosis, that there must be some sort of application and acceptance to become a member.
Mr Justice John Edwards interjected and said that illegal organisations would not keep a register of membership, and proof of membership of the IRA is never adduced by the production of records.
Turning to social media posts by Smith, Mr O’Higgins said that they predated her travelling to Syria and that 90% of them were “very mundane” and included posts about scriptures.
He said Smith did not use social media to post propaganda material about IS and Syria, and that her online posts “pale in significance” to the keyboard warriors.
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