Paris court finds Frenchwoman guilty of terrorism 5 years after repatriation

When she was 19, Sarah Talib left France to join the Islamic State group in Syria. Now 31, she was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Paris court that specializes in terrorism cases.PARIS (CN) — A Paris court found Sarah Talib guilty after the now-31-year-old Frenchwoman was charged with participating in a terrorist criminal organization.She was sentenced to nine years in prison Friday, though the verdict wasn’t released publicly until days later.The trial preceded a high-profile terrorism appeal that opened on Monday, which is set to run through Oct. 13. Kaïs Al-Abdallah, the defendant, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2025 for his role in the Islamic State group in Syria, known as IS, and its role in kidnapping two French journalists in 2013.In contrast, Talib’s case drew attention for shedding light on the role of women in terrorism organizations.Last week, the Specially Composed Assize Court — which specializes in terrorism cases — tried to piece together how Talib went from a fashion-loving adolescent to a Kalashnikov-wielding woman living under IS in Syria.There were two dominant narratives throughout the hearings. One painted a portrait of a woman marked by lasting childhood trauma; Talib’s father was a violent alcoholic who abused her mother and was found dead in the Seine in 2008.“My ex was an alcoholic so I was beaten often,” Talib’s mother told the courtroom on Thursday in a shaky voice, apologizing for taking time to breathe. “My children grew up with aggressivity, alcoholism, dishes that crashed against the wall.”As a teenager, Talib was bullied by her peers for wearing makeup and heels, and her first sexual experience was an assault.Xavier Crettiez, a political science professor at Sciences Po Saint-Germain-en-Laye specialized in radicalization and political violence, said childhood wounds are a common factor for women who joined the Islamic State group.“We see that the women who left for the conflict zone often experienced trauma, and particularly sexual trauma, involving rape, harassment, often issues with incest, etc.,” he said. “And going to the conflict zone is also a way to commit to the caliphate, to commit to the word of God, the word of Allah, including through violence — it is also ultimately a way to heal their own trauma.”But another narrative emerged throughout the hearings: A woman who went to join the Islamic State group on her own accord and didn’t want to come back. Talib started to become radicalized throughout her teenage years.“When I saw my daughter praying, I thought, ‘She’s praying, nothing else,’” Talib’s mother said on Thursday. “But my daughter was becoming something else, I didn’t know — everything was hidden.”Talib got married when she was 18 and began watching Islamic State group propaganda videos with her husband on social media. Her mother said she tried to stop her daughter from moving out, but she was powerless since Sarah was a legal adult. The elder Talib cried as she told the story; her sharp breathing was audible throughout the courtroom.“I opened the door, and she left with him,” her mother said, voice slowly rising and trailing off as she raised her arm.Months later, 19-year-old Talib was pregnant and the couple was en route to join the caliphate. They bought a return ticket to Turkey to evade detection and were smuggled from there into Syria.On Thursday, the court saw photos and text messages Talib sent her older brother — who has been estranged from the family for most of her life — from Syria in 2015.“A beautiful, 3-kilogram explosive belt,” Talib texted after sending a photo of the belt laid out on a bed. “Lol.”“You’ve become a comedian,” her brother replied, adding he didn’t believe what she was saying.Talib’s brother, now a policeman, immediately alerted authorities about his sister’s whereabouts and their exchanges. He reluctantly took the stand Thursday. Before giving testimony, he told the court he was only there because he was summoned.FILE - In this March 31, 2019 file photo, women residents from former Islamic State-held areas in Syria line up for aid supplies at Al-Hol camp in Hassakeh province, Syria. Syrian Kurdish forces said Monday, Oct. 28, 2019 they are beefing up security in prisons and detention facilities where tens of thousands of Islamic State militants and supporters are held, including foreigners, following the killing of the extremist group's leader. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)Janna Behel, a PhD candidate researching the judicialization and reintegration of women who left for Syria and Iraq to join terrorist organizations at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, said the French justice system has changed its approach to women in terrorist organizations.Traditionally, repatriated women were invisible in legal proceedings, viewed as “housewives.”“And then, the justice system changed its perspective on this role and considered that it was the role assigned by the organization; in that way, women were aligning with the policy of the Islamic State, since they left to become those women who would support their husbands so they could go fight and raise their children according to the principles of the Islamic State,” she said. “And so the French justice system considers that this role can be punishable, since it constitutes support for the Islamic State organization.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads