An Austrian woman who spent almost eight years in a detention camp in Syria with her son, before both were repatriated, went on trial in Vienna on Wednesday.
Evelyn T, who is accused of having been a member of a terrorist group from 2015 to 2017, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
She left Austria for Syria's then ISIS-controlled area in 2016 to join her husband, “supporting him psychologically and taking care of the household”, according to the charges.
Evelyn T has been in detention since returning to Austria last month with her son, seven, who was place in social services' custody.
The son was born in 2017. The couple surrendered later that year, with Evelyn T and her son ending up in a Kurdish-run detention camp.
On Wednesday, the 26-year-old was expected to plead guilty in court to the charges of being part of a terrorist group and a criminal organisation, according to her lawyer Anna Mair, in the first such case in the country.
“She takes responsibility for what she has done … and she wants to lead a normal life in the future,” Ms Mair said ahead of the trial's opening.
Since ISIS was ousted from its self-declared “caliphate” in 2019, the return of family members of fighters who were either captured or killed has been a thorny issue for European countries.
Evelyn T was repatriated together with another woman, Maria G, and her two sons. Maria G, now 28, left Austria in 2017 to join ISIS in Syria. She has remained free since her return, while an investigation takes place.
Last year, a Vienna court ordered that she and her sons be repatriated, stressing that it was “in the children's greater interest”.
Austria's Foreign Ministry had previously rejected her request to be repatriated, saying that only the children would be accepted. The EU member previously repatriated several children.
Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands are among other countries that have repatriated relatives of militant group fighters.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
WISH
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How Filipinos in the UAE invest
A recent survey of 10,000 Filipino expatriates in the UAE found that 82 per cent have plans to invest, primarily in property. This is significantly higher than the 2014 poll showing only two out of 10 Filipinos planned to invest.
Fifty-five percent said they plan to invest in property, according to the poll conducted by the New Perspective Media Group, organiser of the Philippine Property and Investment Exhibition. Acquiring a franchised business or starting up a small business was preferred by 25 per cent and 15 per cent said they will invest in mutual funds. The rest said they are keen to invest in insurance (3 per cent) and gold (2 per cent).
Of the 5,500 respondents who preferred property as their primary investment, 54 per cent said they plan to make the purchase within the next year. Manila was the top location, preferred by 53 per cent.
