A woman with Swiss and Egyptian citizenship was apprehended in Evros while travelling to Turkey with her child, aged 4. Her final destination was Syria, where she planned to join the Islamic State and fight for it. She was sentenced and subsequently released, but stayed at Kipi border crossing, this time without the child.
The woman tried to leave Greece at Kipi border crossing but was detained, as an Interpol arrest warrant was issued for her, following a complaint by her husband in Egypt, a businessman from whom she had probably separated. He accused her of kidnapping their child and setting off to Syria to join the Islamic State and fight on its side. According to sources, she seems to have confirmed before the police that her destination was Syria, where she was planning to give birth to more children to "become soldiers of Allah" and stated that she had illegally arrived in Crete by an "old, cranky-boat" and from there to Athens by ferry, to continue on to Evros and to try to go to Turkey and from there to Syria.
Meanwhile, her husband arrived in Alexandroupoli and by decision of the local court, temporarily took the child while the woman was in custody at the police station. During the hearing, the husband said that for some time his wife had been planning to go to Syria with their child whereas he had informed the authorities in the country as a result of which Interpol had issued an arrest warrant for her. Although the woman initially told the police that her goal was Syria and the Islamic State, she denied this statement in court for obvious reasons. The parental rights over the child were temporarily granted to the father and since there was no evidence of a crime, the woman was released. She left for Kipi border crossing to continue her trip to Turkey. Due to bureaucratic obstacles prior to that, she stayed at customs until late last night. It is uncertain, however, if the Turkish authorities will allow her to enter the country, following the information on her plans to join the Islamic State provided by her husband.
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