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Iraqi prime minister says German girl, 16, could be executed for joining Isis

A German teenager dubbed a ‘jihadi bride’ could be executed for joining Isis, the prime minister of Iraq has said.

Linda Wenzel, 16, is currently in a prison in Baghdad awaiting trial to find out if she faces the sentence of death by hanging.

She was found in a basement in Mosul in July during an offensive by Iraqi forces to drive Isis from the city.

She fled her home in Pulsnitz, eastern Germany to join Isis in Iraq after she exchanged messages with jihadists online.

‘You know teenagers under certain laws, they are accountable for their actions, especially if the act is a criminal activity when it amounts to killing innocent people,’ said Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi.

His country carried out at least 88 hanging executions last year and many people found guilty of terrorism offences have been sentenced to death since control of Mosul was taken back from Isis.

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If she was tried and convicted in Germany, Wenzel could face between one and ten years in prison. Her home country’s foreign ministry had previously said it was trying to bring her home, along with three other German women imprisoned in Iraq.

Iraqi intelligence forces have alleged that the teenager worked with the Isis ‘police force’.

Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi says Linda Wenzel could face the death penalty (Picture: Rex)
Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi says Linda Wenzel could face the death penalty (Picture: Rex)

Iraqi journalist Amir Musawy, who met Wenzel after her arrest, told The Independent she was ‘exhausted’ and had a leg injury.

‘I do not have the feeling that she understands what she did, and what she might have waiting for her, whether in Iraq or in Germany,’ he said.

‘She just told me that she wants her home back, like a journey that she went on and did not like.

‘It’s like she is still thinking like a child or a young woman and not understanding what is waiting for her.’

He said that she appeared to still be under the influence of jihadists.

The teenager’s arrest was caught on camera and showed her cowering in fear as she was taken into custody.