Iraqi court sentences two more French nationals to death for joining ISIS
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – An Iraqi court on Sunday handed down death sentences to two more French nationals convicted of being members of the Islamic State.
The French nationals were Vianney Jamal Abdelqader, 29, and Fadil Hamad Abdallah, 33, who claimed he was tortured in an Iraqi jail.
Read More: HRW: French ISIS suspects allege Iraqi torture; nations should ensure fair trials
The two are among 12 French Islamic State members who were arrested by the US-backed Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and transferred from Syria to Iraqi custody earlier this year, according to the Iraqi judiciary.
The death sentence was handed down in accordance with the provisions of Article IV / 1 of the Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13.
None of the sentences have yet been carried out, but France is intensifying diplomatic efforts to spare its citizens from execution, according to a previous statement released by the French Foreign Ministry.
Iraqi courts have put on trial hundreds of foreigners, sentencing many to life in prison and others to death. No foreign Islamic State member, however, has yet been executed.
Human rights groups have criticized inconsistencies in the judicial process in Iraq and the prominence of flawed trials.
On the Syrian side, the SDF has urged countries to repatriate their citizens who have committed crimes on Syrian soil, but lament the lack of progress in neighboring and western states claiming foreign Islamic State fighters.
The Islamic State emerged in Iraq in 2014 and quickly occupied vast swaths of territory in the country. In late 2017, Iraq declared final victory against the terrorist organization, but the Islamic State continues to launch insurgency attacks, ambushes, and kidnappings across the country.
Editing by Nadia Riva