Bushra Haik
Bushra Haik was born in Bologna, Italy, on July 30, 1985, but she was of Syrian origins and in possession of a Canadian passport. In 2015, she was charged with art. 270 bis of the Italian Criminal Code for criminal association with the purpose of terrorism. She was involved in the Sergio case as she contributed to the radicalisation and subsequent enlistment of Maria Giulia Sergio within ISIS, although she also played a part in the radicalisation of other women who gravitated around Maria Giulia such as her sister Marianna, Arta Kacabuni, and Lubjana Gjecaj. Moreover, Haik helped convert and radicalise other women not included in this case such as Lara Bombonati, also known as Lady Jihad.
At the time of criminal proceedings and during her involvement with the Sergio sisters, Bushra Haik was conducting proselytism from Saudi Arabia (moved to Riyadh since 2012) from where she led and guided several Skype study groups such as “Aqidah and Tafsir”, teaching women the duty of a good Muslim while exalting the terroristic acts of Daesh. Haik would read Koranic verses which would be interpreted in favour of IS and its cause: her lessons praised and justified the attacks towards Westerners, religious minorities and hostages as rightful and necessary, mentioning the importance of doing hijra to join other combatants while condemning those who refused to enlist.
It was Lubjana Gjecaj in a phone conversation with her friend Rudina Metani that revealed that Maria Giulia in September 2014 was already one of Haik’s students. Gjecaj also revealed how women were recruited into Haik’s circle: current students were the point of contact with new recruits and their email address was then forwarded to Haik. Once Maria Giulia left for Syria, her sister Marianna became the intermediary between Haik and new recruits.
Once Maria Giulia left for Syria in September 2014 to do hijra after marrying the foreign fighter Aldo Kobuzi, Haik became a reference point for Marianna, as she started following her lessons alongside Lubjana Gjecaj and was given a propaganda pamphlet entirely written in Italian aimed at outlining the Islamic State to inspiring foreign fighters. In January 2015, Haik was giving Marianna advice on how to elude police questioning by giving her precise instructions such as deleting all evidence from her computer, playing down the seriousness of her sister’s journey and lying about her trip to Syria.
Haik’s lessons had such an impact on the Sergio sisters that they would often cite her teachings when trying to convince their parents to leave for Syria and to convert other women such as Lupan Yeadokiya “Dunia”. Therefore, Haik’s lessons contributed to Maria Giulia’s commitment to leave for Syria and enlist within ISIS as well as Marianna’s resolution to follow in her sister’s footsteps.
At the time of the criminal proceedings and during the trial in 2015, Bushra Haik was a fugitive, probably still in Saudi Arabia. Nonetheless, she was convicted in absentia and sentenced for participation to a terrorist organisation to nine years, a conviction that was later confirmed by the Court of Cassation of Rome in 2019.