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Sarah O. at the start of the process in October 2019
Photo: David Young / dpa
The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court has sentenced one of the most famous German supporters of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia to six and a half years in juvenile imprisonment.
The court found 23-year-old Sarah O. guilty of terrorist organization and crimes against humanity.
The parents of the IS fighter whom O. had married in Syria must also be in custody.
O's case has caused quite a stir in recent years.
In 2013, the then 15-year-old was probably one of the first girls to join the terrorist militia.
The high school student from Constance left school and her old life behind.
In 2018 she was caught on her return to Düsseldorf.
According to the court, O. had left for Syria "in order to take part in the fight against the Syrian regime and in building an Islamic state according to the rules of Sharia law."
She joined the IS and married the German IS fighter Ismail S.
O. held five women and two girls in captivity
Together with her husband, the German-Algerian kept a total of five women and two girls of the Yazidis religious community persecuted by IS as slaves.
One of the girls was killed during an overland trip approved by O. over a street that had been under fire the day before.
Three of the five Yazidi women appeared as co-plaintiffs in the trial in Germany.
According to the court, two of them said they had been raped by Ismail S.
"This was done with the consent of the defendant Sarah O., who considered this action against the defenseless women to be necessary according to the rules of IS and encouraged her 'husband' to act."
During her escape from the IS area, O. was arrested by Turkish security forces in February 2018 and later deported to Germany, where she was arrested when she entered the country in September 2018.
She has been in custody ever since.
The process began in camera in October 2019.
The parents of IS fighter Ismail S. were also charged in the proceedings. The Düsseldorf court sentenced Perihan S. to four and a half years and Ahmet S. to three years imprisonment for supporting a terrorist organization abroad.
The son of the couple from Cologne, together with his brother, is said to have been selling weapons accessories and equipment to IS and its allies since October 2013.
According to the federal prosecutor's office, the brothers set up an international logistics network for this purpose.
According to the Higher Regional Court, the parents were involved in the procurement of weapons accessories and equipment and also transported objects to Syria themselves.
"In addition, the defendants encouraged their sons to work for the› IS ‹from mid-2014 through monetary payments," the court continued.
The defendants can appeal the judgment to the Federal Court of Justice.
Sarah O. and Perihan S. remain in custody at least until the final judgment.
Ahmet S. initially remains at large.
He is now separated from his ex-wife.
fek / AFP
