Belgian ISIS Widow’s Appeal Trial Postponed in High-Profile Terrorism Case

At the age of 17, Noura Firoud, a resident of Vilvoorde, had left for Syria in 2013 with her husband Houssien Elouassaki, a prominent figure of Sharia4Belgium. After his death, she remarried Ali Houdaifa Ammi, another fighter from Vilvoorde, who had also gone to Syria in 2013. There is no more trace of this man who would have been killed by other Daesh jihadists. Ali had been sentenced in absentia to five years in prison during the Sharia4Belgium trial.

A few days after her departure for Syria, Noura was already the subject of legal proceedings before the juvenile court for participation in the activities of a terrorist group and recruitment of fighters. At the time, no measure had been imposed on the young woman because she was in Syria. She had received, in February 2019, a conviction by default (five years in prison). For the Brussels Correctional Court, the fact that Noura had provided her husband with domestic help, founded a family with him and raised and cared for their three children proved that she had actively served the Islamic State.

Noura Firoud had appealed her conviction through her lawyer. Initially scheduled for November 2, the appeal trial had been postponed to February 25. At the request of the defense, it has just been postponed to May 6.