Islamic State woman wrote down phone numbers of known terrorists

An Adelaide woman accused of pledging her allegiance to Islamic State wrote the phone numbers of three known terrorists on a piece of paper before later trying to scribble them out, a court has heard.

Zainab Abdirahman-Khalif, 23, has pleaded not guilty to knowingly being a member of the Islamic State group between July 2016 and May 2017.

South Australia’s Supreme Court has previously heard Ms Abdirahman-Khalif quit her university diploma in March 2016, and decided to “follow a different path”.

Commonwealth prosecutors allege she purchased a one-way ticket from Adelaide to Istanbul in Turkey, with the intention of contacting the terrorist group, but was detained at the airport and prevented from boarding the flight.

In a video played to a Supreme Court jury today, detectives questioned the woman about the meaning of a piece of exercise book paper with three numbers written on it.

They asked her why she wrote the phone numbers of known members of IS down on the piece of paper, and why they appeared to be scribbled out.

Ms Abdirahman-Khalif said the scribbles were “doodles”.

“You haven’t doodled anywhere else on the page — you’ve just tried to make the numbers illegible,” the detectives said.

Commonwealth prosecutor Chris Winneke QC previously told the Supreme Court Ms Abdirahman-Khalif had been in communication with three young African women who carried out a bombing in Mombassa, Kenya, in September 2016, for which IS later claimed responsibility.

“It’s not the crown’s case that the defendant is in any way involved in the organisation or commission of any specific event … but the crown does have evidence that suggests that the defendant had some knowledge that the event in Mombasa was going to occur,” Mr Winneke previously said.

During the interview, detectives asked Ms Abdirahman-Khalif whether she believed in the terrorist group’s “brand of Islam”.

“Do you think IS … their extreme version, with … beheadings and murders … is the appropriate way of Islam?”

Her answer: “No.”

“I’m asking you whether you believe in Islam in the way [they] preach it?”

“No,” she replied.

At the beginning of the trial, the jury was warned it would be shown “graphic” material allegedly found on Ms Abdirahman-Khalif’s personal devices, as well as hundreds of audio recordings and videos related to Islamic State “propaganda”.

Defence lawyer Bill Boucaut today told the court he would not be calling any witnesses.

Both the prosecution and defence will make closing submissions next week.

Source: ABC