Woman who fled to Syria to join Isis says it’s nothing like they promised

A Belgian woman who converted to Islam and moved to Syria after falling for a man she met in a supermarket has warned others about making the same mistake.

Laura Passoni, 30, had been working in the supermarket when she met her future husband. It was only when they both moved to Syria that she realised the promises of a better life made by Islamic State were a lie.

Speaking to local media she said: ‘I was not forced to become a Muslim, I was persuaded. You just get washed away, like trying to stand against a waterfall.’

She said: ‘I went there voluntarily and willingly, I converted to become a Muslim and then I was radicalised, and I became convinced that the caliphate was only place for me and my family to live. Once I got there though I really got to know the meaning of terror.’

Laura described how she was confined to the house to do the cleaning and cooking, and was only allowed to leave when she was in the company of her husband.

When she moved to the city, she took her four-year-old son from a previous relationship, as well as the child she had with her new husband. She quickly realised it was not a place she wanted to raise her children.

She admitted that she was never treated violently, but it was clear that she was a prisoner. She added: ‘I was forbidden to do anything, I just had to take care of the home and children. I could not leave the house or use Internet without the presence of a man.

‘I started to become very afraid that they might take my children away. It was just the opposite of what they promised in the propaganda of the Caliphate.

‘I decided I wanted to escape when I realised there was a very real risk my son might end up a terrorist.’

She managed to get a mobile phone and was able to communicate secretly with her parents, but she refused to reveal details of how they had managed to help her escape.

Local media reports however that there was a negotiation between the Belgian authorities and some jihadists in Turkey who acted as intermediaries.