Lina Ishaq
Context
Conviction of a Swedish national for serious crimes under international law and serious war crimes committed in Syria in 2013
Type of jurisdiction
Active personality
Suspect
Lina Ishaq, Swedish national
Country of residence of suspect
Sweden
Charges
Serious crimes under international law; serious war crimes of recruitment and use of a child soldier
Current status
Convicted; sentenced to six years in prison
Facts
Ishaq, a Swedish national, travelled to Syria in 2013 with four of her children to join her husband and an older son. One of her sons, aged 12, was recruited by the Islamic State (ISIS) and used as a child soldier. He died in combat in 2017. She returned from Syria in 2020.
Developments in 2022
On 4 March 2022, the Stockholm District Court sentenced Ishaq to 6 years’ imprisonment for serious crimes under international law and serious war crimes. She was convicted as an accomplice for failing, in her capacity as a legal guardian, to prevent her son aged 12, from being recruited and used as a child soldier by ISIS during the armed conflict in Syria.
The United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) provided support to the Court in this case which was the first time that charges were brought in Sweden for the war crime of using a child soldier.
