PIO girl who tried to join ISIS sentenced

London: A British Sikh girl who converted to Islam as a teenager and tried to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State (ISIS) was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for terrorism offences by a UK court.

Sandeep Samra, 18, who claimed she wanted to work as a nurse in Syria, had pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorist acts by attempting to travel to the region between June 1 and July 31 last year.

She denied intending to carry out acts of violence, claiming that she had wanted to leave the UK after members of an anti-extremism team informed her family about her conversion to Islam.

Judge Melbourne Inman at Birmingham Crown Court found her guilty of the charge, saying she had been “deeply radicalised”. The teenager was arrested by the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit (WMCTU) in June last year.

“Samra’s phone was examined and officers found evidence of her support for ISIS and her intent on travelling to Syria or other areas controlled by ISIS. She dismissed warnings of the dangers for women in the conflict and even declared her intention to seek her own death,” said chief superintendent Matt Ward.