The Government is working to bring an Irishwoman who was arrested on suspicion of having links to the Islamic State in Syria back home.
Former Defence Forces member Lisa Smith is being held at a Kurdish controlled camp in the war-torn country along with her two-year-old child.
She travelled to Syria in 2015 after converting to Islam– and was reportedly preparing to leave the country when she was detained earlier this month.
In an interview with CNN overnight, the 37-year-old said: “I want to come home.”
She said she did not know if she would face prosecution in Ireland but noted: “I am already in prison.”
“Even if they put me in prison at home, it’s better than being here,” a Canadian citizen tells @JomanaCNN who gets rare access to #SDF-controlled camps where more than 1,000 foreign #ISIS fighters are stranded as their home countries seem reluctant to take them back. #Syria pic.twitter.com/FKxCXzUDp3
— Connect the World (@CNNConnect) March 24, 2019
Irish citizen
Speaking in Cork this morning, the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney said the Government was treating Ms Smith’s case as a consular matter and said officials from across Government departments were working on a coordinated Government response.
He said there is “heightened concern because there is a two year-old-girl involved in this as well.”
“This is an unusual case because of her background in the last number of years,” he said. “But the Taoiseach and I have made it very clear she is an Irish citizen and she is the responsibility of Ireland and we have a responsibility towards her and, in particular, her daughter.
“We will try to follow through on that responsibility and find a way to bring her home.”
"War zone"
He said the Government is staying in close contact with her family and keeping them informed of developments.
“Part of the problem here is that this is a war zone or at least a former war zone and so, it is not that easy to actually get into these places,” he said.
“I spoke to her brother last week or the week before and have given her family a commitment that we would keep them informed at all times and we will.”
Syria
He noted that the case is “complicated” for all involved.
“This is a particularly unusual case because it involves a young child and a mother, both of them Irish citizens, in a war zone, in a camp that was linked to some partners and children of ISIS fighters [that is] controlled largely by Kurds,” he said.
“So it is more complicated than most consular cases would be, to put it mildly.
“But, that being said, we do have a responsibility here as a State both to her and, in particular, we have a duty of care to a two-year-old young Irish girl who happens to be in a very vulnerable situation.
"We are taking that seriously.”
