France's 'Mama Jihad' jailed for 10 years for encouraging jihadist son
A Frenchwoman, nicknamed "Mama Jihad", who tavelled to Syria three times to support her jihadist son was handed a 10-year jail sentence on Friday in the latest case against parents of Isis fighters.
Christine Riviere, 51 was convicted of being part of a terrorist organization.
She was given the maximum sentence her"unfailing commitment" to jihad and for helping a number of young women travel to Syria as part of her attempts to find a bride for her son Tyler Vilus, with whom she was described as having an "inseparable relationship".
Vilus travelled to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State group. He is believed to have been close to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the masterminds of the Paris terror attacks.
Riviere, who has been nicknamed "Mama Jihad" in the French press, visited him three times in 2013 and 2014.
She told the court she feared he would not return home.
She was arrested in July 2014 as she was preparing a fourth visit.
She was accused of helping him financially but also of sharing his fanatical ideas and was found to have shared jihadist propaganda online, including videos of decapitations.
Her son Tyler was arrested in Turkey in 2015 and extradited to France here he awaits trial.
He conviction comes just a week the mother of another jihadist was jailed for two years after she was convicted of wiring cash to her son in Syria.
Nathalie Haddadi, (see photo below) 43, insisted she did not know how her son Belabbas Bounaga spent the money she wired to him and said the conviction was a "double punishment" for a grieving mum.
"I have trouble understanding how they can accuse me of financing terrorism," Haddadi told reporters before hearing the verdict.
"I helped my son," she said, while insisting she had never sent money to Syria.
The judge said Haddadi had known "perfectly well" that her son was using the money to travel to Syria and that the sentence was in keeping with "the gravity" of the acts.
Comments
See Also
Christine Riviere, 51 was convicted of being part of a terrorist organization.
She was given the maximum sentence her"unfailing commitment" to jihad and for helping a number of young women travel to Syria as part of her attempts to find a bride for her son Tyler Vilus, with whom she was described as having an "inseparable relationship".
Vilus travelled to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State group. He is believed to have been close to Abdelhamid Abaaoud, one of the masterminds of the Paris terror attacks.
Riviere, who has been nicknamed "Mama Jihad" in the French press, visited him three times in 2013 and 2014.
She told the court she feared he would not return home.
She was arrested in July 2014 as she was preparing a fourth visit.
She was accused of helping him financially but also of sharing his fanatical ideas and was found to have shared jihadist propaganda online, including videos of decapitations.
Her son Tyler was arrested in Turkey in 2015 and extradited to France here he awaits trial.
He conviction comes just a week the mother of another jihadist was jailed for two years after she was convicted of wiring cash to her son in Syria.
Nathalie Haddadi, (see photo below) 43, insisted she did not know how her son Belabbas Bounaga spent the money she wired to him and said the conviction was a "double punishment" for a grieving mum.
"I have trouble understanding how they can accuse me of financing terrorism," Haddadi told reporters before hearing the verdict.
"I helped my son," she said, while insisting she had never sent money to Syria.
The judge said Haddadi had known "perfectly well" that her son was using the money to travel to Syria and that the sentence was in keeping with "the gravity" of the acts.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.