Spain: Woman who sought to join Islamic State gets 5 years

MADRID – A Spanish court has given a reduced five-year prison sentence to a Moroccan woman who confessed to having tried to join the Islamic State group.

The National Court convicted Samira Yerou, 33, of membership of a terrorist organization and said Friday that the sentence was not as high as it could have been in light of her confession and stated repentance.

Yerou was arrested in July, 2015 after being deported from Turkey where she had gone with her then 3-year-old son to try to illegally enter Syria and join IS.

During the trial this month, Yerou, who has Spanish residency, claimed she had been fooled into thinking life would be better in Syria. She said she had been going through a bad period after her husband had left her.