Sweden prosecutes woman for recruiting son to fight in Syria

The woman, who has been in custody in Sweden since September, is suspected of helping recruit one of her sons – born in 2001 – to fight as a child soldier while they lived between 2013-2016 in Syrian territory once controlled by the Islamic State group.

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement this is the first time that the country has brought war crimes charges against an individual for abetting in recruiting child soldiers.

Prosecutor Reena Devgun said an investigation showed that the son, aged 12 when he first arrived in Syria, was provided with military equipment and weapons and that “he was used in combat and for propaganda purposes and for other missions that formed part of warfare.”

She said the woman’s actions were considered extreme because the boy “was recruited and used as a child soldier by a terrorist organization in warfare that was extremely ruthless and brutal.”