Former Irish soldier begins appeal against sentence for IS membership

Lisa Smith, a former Irish soldier has begun an appeal against a 15-month sentence imposed for membership of Islamic State.

Smith's Counsel said that the sentence was too high and she was not given enough credit for mitigating circumstances.

The alleged mitigating circumstances include that she was the mother of a child whose father had died, she had already spent time in custody, the conditions in the Al-Hawl camp where she was living and the assistance she gave the prosecution and her cooperation with gardaí.

The counsel also claimed that not enough weight had been given to an expert report by Professor Anne Speckard, which said that Smith had denounced ISIS.

The prosecution claimed that the sentence was legitimate, given that the decision to join Islamic State was considered and determined.

The appeal judgment has been reserved.

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