Lisa Smith, who has been charged with a terrorism offence linked in Islamic State, is a former member of Ireland’s Defence Forces who travelled to Syria in 2015 after converting to Islam.
The 38-year-old was arrested in December at Dublin airport after being deported from Turkey.
She had been living in a refugee camp on the Syria-Iraqi border with her young daughter.
Now she faces a terrorism charge with her latest hearing taking place in Dublin on Wednesday, January 8.
Who is Lisa Smith?
Lisa Smith, born in Dundalk in 1981, joined the Irish Defence Forces in 2000 where she served as a private.
She later transferred to the Irish Air Corps, where she served as a flight attendant on the official Irish government jet.
On journeys, she accompanied former president Mary Robinson and then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Then in 2011, she left the forces after converting to Islam.
In 2015, Ms Smith left Ireland and travelling to Syria to allegedly join Islamic State.
Significant numbers of Europeans left for Syria in the 2010s to fight for and against IS during a bloody war which destroyed the Middle Eastern country and produced millions of refugees.
Her time in Syria
In Syria, Ms Smith married and had a child, but her husband has since died.
Her now two-year-old daughter was born in the war-torn country but is an Irish citizen.
Ms Smith has denied being involved in violence during her time in Syria.
In April 2019, the mother-of-one spoke to the media from the Al-Hawl refugee camp, describing the process of her conversion and her desire to be repatriated to Ireland.
Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said she should have the right of return to Ireland and that removing her citizenship would not be right or compassionate.
Her arrest on returning to Ireland
Ms Smith was arrested on December 1 at Dublin airport as she arrived back in her home country with her daughter.
She had been deported from Turkey and put on the first scheduled Turkish Airlines flight to Ireland.
The mother-of-one was not in custody for the four-and-a-half-hour flight but Irish police were waiting at the airport for the plane’s arrival.
Images of her arrival showed her covered in a pink blanket as she was taken from the plane in heavy rain.
Her daughter was taken into care by her family after her arrest.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said: “This is a sensitive case and I want to reassure people that all relevant State agencies are closely involved.
“A multi-agency network is in place here comprising agency personnel who engage on an ongoing basis with international colleagues regarding emerging practice in relation to the complex issue of radicalisation.
“This network will coordinate engagement on a case by case basis as and when appropriate.”
Charged with terror offences
Irish police were granted an extra 24 hours to question the suspect during a court hearing on December 3.
Ms Smith was then charged with a terror offence by police in Dublin the next day.
She has denied the charge, namely that she had been a member of unlawful terrorist group Islamic State between 2015 to 2019.
Later that day, she appeared at the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin where she was refused bail.
The judge, Justice Colin Daly, says evidence brought by prosecution informed his decision, as her history indicates she may be a flight risk.
She was remanded to Cloverhill women's prison.
Release from prison on bail
On December 19, she was granted bail after she brought her renewed application to the High Court in Dublin.
She pleaded for bail to be with her child and said she would comply with any order made by the court.
In his ruling, a judge said Ms Smith was accused of membership of a terrorist organisation. It was a serious offence that could result in an eight-year sentence, he said.
However, he said she was entitled to the presumption of innocence and the presumption of bail, which precedent states must be granted in most cases.
Ms Smith's bail conditions include she must sign on at a police station twice daily and must answer her phone if called by gardai.
She cannot leave the jurisdiction or apply for new travel documentation, having already lost her passport.
She has also been banned from accessing the internet or using any social media.
If she fails to comply with the conditions, it would be a breach of bail and would result in her going back into custody.
She was released from Limerick Prison by the end of December.
