IS detainee deported from Turkey charged after return to Ireland

IS detainee deported from Turkey charged after return to Ireland

Irish police charged a woman aligned to Islamic State on Wednesday, three days after she was arrested on suspicion of terrorist offences when she returned to Dublin from Turkey.

The police gave no details of the charges against Lisa Smith, an Irish citizen who had gone to Turkey from Syria and denies involvement with any terrorist-related activity.

Smith, 38, was due to appear in court later on Wednesday, the police said in a statement.

Ireland agreed to repatriate Smith and her two-year-old daughter after Ankara began deporting foreign citizens linked to Islamic State last month.

Turkey says it has captured 287 militants in northeast Syria, where Turkish troops launched an offensive against the Kurdish YPG militia last month, and has hundreds of jihadist suspects in detention.

Dublin had said for months that it had a responsibility to bring Smith back to Ireland but that police may be in a position to charge her upon her return. She was arrested on Sunday at Dublin airport. 

The government’s main concern was for the safe repatriation of her daughter, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said. The girl was now being cared for by relatives, police said.