South Australian woman has conviction for being IS member overturned

South Australian woman Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif, who was convicted of being a member of a terrorist group, has had her conviction overturned on appeal.

Zainab Abdirahman Khalif (centre) leaves the Supreme Court in Adelaide.

Zainab Abdirahman Khalif (centre) leaves the Supreme Court in Adelaide. Source: AAP

A South Australian woman convicted of being a member of the Islamic State terror group has had her guilty verdict overturned on appeal.

Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif, 24, was convicted of being a member of a terror group by a jury following a trial last year.

But the verdict was set aside and she was acquitted by Chief Justice Chris Kourakis and Justice Greg Parker in a Supreme Court majority decision on Thursday.

Justice Patricia Kelly said she would have dismissed the appeal.

Abdirahman-Khalif, who has spent more than two years behind bars, cried and hugged supporters after she was released from the dock.

The former student was stopped by police at Adelaide Airport while trying to board a plane to Istanbul in July 2016.

She told officers she was taking a last-minute holiday, despite having a small amount of clothing, no return flight and less than $200 in funds.
The Adelaide Supreme Court.
The Adelaide Supreme Court. Source: AAP
The Somalian refugee was later released but arrested at the Port Adelaide TAFE SA campus in May 2017, following a lengthy police investigation.

She was found guilty in what was the state's first terrorism trial, but Abdirahman-Khalif launched an appeal, arguing the guilty verdict was unreasonable and cannot be supported on the evidence.


Share
2 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world