 At the time of her execution, she was still engaged in the process of appeal of her sentence.Al-Rishawi was reportedly the sister of a former close aide of deceased al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, named by some reports as Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, who was killed by US forces in Iraq.On 24 January 2015, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) offered to trade Japanese journalist Kenji Goto and spare Royal Jordanian Air Force Lieutenant Muath al-Kasasbeh for Sajida al-Rishawi.