Facts
According to the conviction, in September 2015, Marcia M. and her husband traveled from Germany to Turkey and then to Syria to join ISIS. The defendant underwent ideological training of the organization in Raqqa and received instructions in the use of firearms. In December 2015, she and her husband reportedly moved into a house provided by ISIS in the vicinity of Mosul, Iraq. Its lawful residents had fled ISIS or been driven out by the organization.
The couple returned to Raqqa in February 2016 and Marcia M. allegedly joined an ISIS women’s battalion and declared her willingness to carry out suicide attacks. At the unit, she underwent firearms training and was taught how to make explosives. Subsequently, she is said to have manufactured explosive belts herself. In addition, the defendant translated propagandistic writings for ISIS. She managed the household for her husband, which also served to enable him to participate in combat missions. For their activities, the couple received monthly support from the group.
In the fall of 2016, ISIS members residing in Syria planned a terrorist attack on a German music festival and recruited fighters to be smuggled into Germany. Marcia M. was reportedly involved in the plan and recruited two women residing in Germany who were supposed to marry and house the assassins in Germany in order to enable them to live an inconspicuous life there until the attack was committed. The departure of the two selected ISIS fighters failed because the border was no longer passable.
Marcia M. was held in the custody of Kurdish forces in Syria since October 2017.
Procedure
Upon her return to Germany, on 5 October 2022, Marcia M. was arrested at Frankfurt airport and placed in pre-trial detention.
On 15 February 2023, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office brought charges before the Higher Regional Court of Celle against Marcia M. The defendant was accused of membership in a terrorist organization abroad and a war crime against property.
On 17 April 2023, the trial begun and Marcia M. pleaded guilty to almost all charges. On 4 September 2023, the Higher Regional Court of Celle sentenced Marcia M. to a total term of imprisonment of eight years and six months for membership in a terrorist organization abroad and a war crime against property.