Iraqi Court Sentences Seven French Nationals for Islamic State Membership
The six defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, which under Iraqi law is equivalent to 20 years in prison. A seventh French national was sentenced to 15 years.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – An Iraqi court on Tuesday sentenced seven French nationals to prison for belonging to the Islamic State (ISIS) group, including six who received life sentences after being convicted of terrorism-related offences.
The six defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, which under Iraqi law is equivalent to 20 years in prison. A seventh French national was sentenced to 15 years.
According to an AFP journalist present at the hearing, the defendants were found guilty of belonging to ISIS and contributing to the group’s efforts to spread terror.
The judge said the court had commuted the death sentences to life imprisonment for the six defendants, citing their young age and giving them an opportunity to rebuild their lives.
The seventh defendant, now 24, was taken to Syria by his mother, who joined ISIS more than a decade ago.
All seven were among 47 French nationals transferred from Syria to Iraq last year. The group also includes Adrien Guihal, who claimed responsibility on behalf of ISIS for the 2016 attack in Nice, France.
ISIS seized large swathes of territory across Iraq and Syria in 2014, carrying out massacres, persecuting religious minorities and subjecting women and girls to sexual slavery.
Iraq declared victory over the group in 2017 following a military campaign supported by a US-led international coalition. In Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces defeated ISIS’s territorial stronghold in 2019.
Despite its territorial defeat, Iraq continues to address the consequences of the group’s rule. Mass graves containing victims of ISIS atrocities continue to be uncovered, while investigations into crimes committed during the group’s control of parts of the country remain ongoing.
Iraqi courts have issued hundreds of death sentences and life sentences against people convicted of terrorism-related offences, including foreign nationals accused of joining ISIS.
The transfer of foreign ISIS suspects from Syria to Iraq has brought renewed attention to the legal proceedings facing foreign fighters and the question of accountability for crimes committed during the group’s expansion.