French mom jailed for encouraging son to join Daesh

A court in France has sentenced a French woman to 10 years in prison on charges of encouraging his son to fight alongside Takfiri Daesh terrorists in Syria and following him to the conflict zone in the Arab state.

The ruling was issued on Friday after Christine Riviere was convicted of “unfailing commitment” to Daesh and for helping a number of young women travel to Syria as part of attempts to find a bride for her son, Tyler Vilus.



The 51-year-old mother was arrested in 2014 after allegedly visiting her son in Daesh-held areas in Syria for three times in order to support him and spend time with him in case her son faced an early death.

“I wanted to make the most of [time with] my son before he dies… I know that will happen, of course, and if it does I’ll be happy for him because I know what that means for him,” Riviere reportedly told investigators.

The 51-year-old was also charged with financing the terrorist organization and sharing the videos that propagate terrorism on the Internet and social media.

Reports said Riviere had backed the views of her radicalized 27-year-old son and sent him money and encouragement. She had also contributed to strengthening the Takfiri group logistically.

“Instead of trying to disengage your son, it seems on the contrary that you encouraged him,” the judge at Riviere’s trial said.

Arrested in July 2015 in Turkey and in custody in France, Vilus is suspected of having links to the network that planned and carried out the November 2015 attacks in Paris in which 130 people were killed. Riviere’s son will stand in trial in the forthcoming days.

According to a recent study by the International Center for Counter-Terrorism based in The Hague, four European Union member states - Belgium, Britain, France and Germany - have been branded as the largest source of European militants fighting in Syria and Iraq.

The four European countries contributed to the militancy in Iraq and Syria by having 2,838 of their nationals traveling to those countries for joining terror groups, the study said.

That is more than half of a total of 4,294 foreign fighters who have left the EU member states for those two Arab countries over the past few years.

The study warned the European governments about the risks associated with the return of those citizens, saying the states have lacked the proper policies to counter the flow.