Donika Coku

Donika Coku was born on May 16, 1971, in Albania  but was living in Scansano (GR) with her brother Baki Coku and her sister Arta Kacabuni. In 2015 she was charged with art. 270 bis of the Italian Criminal Code for criminal association with the purpose of terrorism, having contributed to the Sergio case. Donika Coku was involved in the Sergio case alongside her whole family: her brother Baki, her sister Arta and her children Serjola Kobuzi and Aldo Kobuzi have all been charged with the same crime. Donika took part in proselytism and contributed to the radicalisation of her sister Arta but she was also involved in the wedding between her son Aldo Kobuzi and Maria Giulia Sergio with whom she travelled to Syria.
Before being implicated in this case, Donika’s radical beliefs were already seeded in her mind, so much that she got her own daughter, Serjola Kobuzi, married to a foreign fighters in 2011 when she was still a minor. Moreover, her decision to support and join the Islamic State was made in full awareness of her radicalisation, as she had previously divorced from her husband and thus she was not influenced by the man.
In September 2014, Donika Coku was contacted by a friend of hers, Lubjana Gjecaj: she wanted to introduce Donika’s son Aldo to Maria Giulia, a woman from Inzago (MI) who was looking for a husband willing to leave for Syria to join the Islamic State. On September 16, Donika alongside Aldo, Baki Coku and Arta Kacabuni travelled to Treviglio to celebrate the wedding between her son and Maria Giulia. In Treviglio they were hosted by Dritan and Lubjana Gjecaj and the wedding took place on September 17.
Right after the wedding, Donika, Maria Giulia and Aldo left for Syria and joined Serjola who was already there. Donika and the newlyweds were helped by the Imams Genci Balla and Bujar Hysa in the organisation to their trip to Syria, who were put in contact with Aldo by Serjola’s husband Mariglen Dervishllari.
They first flew to Turkey from Rome and then took a domestic flight to Gaziantep, a city close to the Syrian border. Phone records reveal that they were in all probability helped by Ahmed Abu Alharith, a known ISIS handler, to cross the Syrian border.
At the time of the criminal proceedings and during the trial in 2015, Donika Coku was a fugitive, probably still in Syria.  Nonetheless, she was convicted in absentia and sentenced for participation to a terrorist organisation to eight years, a conviction that was later confirmed by the Court of Cassation of Rome in 2019.