The two women come from Bærum west of Oslo and traveled to war-torn Syria in 2013. There, they voluntarily chose to join IS and were part of its activities for several years, the Norwegian court finds.
They have actively joined IS by traveling to Syria and staying on IS territory together with IS-affiliated individuals. It is something other than a passive membership, says Judge Aina Mee Ertzeid when she reads out the verdict.
One of the women, who is now 31 years old, is sentenced to four years in prison for participating in terrorist activities. Her 27-year-old sister, who was 16 years old when they left Norway, is sentenced to two years in prison, with half of the sentence being conditional.
The women have denied the crimes and have wanted to give a different picture of their stay in Syria and the motives for their trip, but the court dismisses most of it as after-the-fact constructions.
They have chosen to enter into marriages with foreign IS fighters. They have contributed to protecting and supporting their husbands, both physically and psychologically, in line with IS ideology and role for women, says Judge Ertzeid.
The sisters were later captured and placed with thousands of others in the al-Hol refugee camp. In 2023, they were retrieved by Norwegian authorities.
