Terrorist group ISIS has reportedly offered a reward of $1 million to kill a Kurdish-Danish woman who has been fighting against it as part of Kurdish forces. Joanna Palani, 23, who dropped out of university in 2014, had her passport confiscated on return to Copenhagen, and faces up to two years in prison for breaking national laws preventing citizens from fighting for foreign countries.
Shortly after her passport was taken, she wrote on her Facebook, "How can I pose a threat to Denmark and other countries by being a soldier in an official army that Denmark trains and supports directly in the fight against ISIS?" The police has imposed a 12-month travel ban on her by email in a move to stop her from travelling back to the so-called Islamic State.
Representing her, lawyer Erbil Kaya slammed the decision to jail her as "hypocritical". The lawyer said, "It's a shame. We are the first country in the world to punish a person who has been fighting on the same side as the international coalition. It's hypocritical to punish her. Why don't we punish the people who fight for ISIS instead of people who are fighting on the same side as Denmark? I don't think it makes sense." Joanna will soon attend another hearing, but remains firm on wanting to "fight for women's rights, for democracy, for the European values I learned as a Danish girl."
In a recent interview this year, Joanna had said 'ISIS fighters are very easy to kill." "It's very difficult for me, as there are many people who are against me still in Copenhagen- some IS people. It's hard for me to get a job as PET (Danish counter terrorism) have been calling employers telling them I am a threat to national security, so it doesn't seem like anyone is on my side."
