SALZBURG – An Austrian woman who left for Syria as a teenager to join the so-called Islamic State has been sentenced to 24 months in prison, suspended for three years. The court in Salzburg found 28-year-old Maria G. guilty of participating in a terrorist organization and a criminal group. The verdict is final.
Maria G., who returned to Austria earlier this year with her two young sons, admitted her actions in full before the court. “I have thought a lot about my radicalization and my departure back then. Today I can no longer explain how it could have happened,” she told the panel of judges.
The court ordered probationary supervision and further participation in deradicalization programs and psychotherapy. The presiding judge argued that an unconditional prison term would be counterproductive. G. thanked the court for “a second chance.”
Her path to radicalization began in adolescence, after a traumatic experience left her suffering panic attacks and disorientation. She converted to Islam in 2013, then married an Islamic State fighter via Skype and traveled to Syria in June 2014 at age 17. Prosecutors said her presence strengthened the morale of her husbands, both IS fighters, though they conceded there was no evidence she took part in combat or atrocities.
G. lived in IS-controlled territory for years, giving birth to two sons. After the fall of the group’s last stronghold in 2019, she fled through a humanitarian corridor and spent years in Kurdish-run camps with her children before being repatriated to Austria in March 2025.
The prosecution argued the case was about reintegration, not retribution. Facing up to ten years, G. ultimately received a suspended sentence after cooperating with investigators and beginning rehabilitation on her own initiative.
