Young woman from Colorado imprisoned for attempting to help IS

Young Colorado woman sentenced to four years in prison for trying to help Islamic State

Shannon Conley, a 19 year old Muslim convert, was arrested in April, when she got caught trying to board a flight to Turkey  on the way to Syria to marry an Islamic State fighter.

Conley was offered a reduced sentence in exchange for information about other Americans attempting to join IS.

Conley now calls herself Halima, but she claims she regrets her actions.

The Judge of this case, Raymond Moore said that the verdict was meant as a deterrent to others who were tempted to join IS militants and said that he doubted her claim of disavowing jihad.

He added that Conley needed mental help: “Defiance has been a part of her fabric for a long time,”

Conley appeared in the courtroom wearing a headscarf with her prison uniform. She had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organisation, and she had faced up to five years in prison.

Conley, who is a nurse's assistant, told her parents she planned to marry Yousr Mouelhi, who she met online and believed to be a Tunisian IS fighter.

The FBI became interested in Conley after she concerned employees of a church in Denver by taking notes on the layout of the building. Over the course of eight months, FBI agents tried to discourage her from travelling abroad, suggesting she explore humanitarian work instead. However her father, who had refused to let her marry her Tunisian suitor, discovered a one-way ticket to Turkey with Conley's name on it.