Iraq Sentences Nine French ISIS Members to Prison Terms of Up to 20 Years
The sentences were handed down last week by Baghdad's Karkh Criminal Court, following the start of trials in September for 47 French nationals accused of joining the extremist group, which controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – An Iraqi criminal court has sentenced nine French nationals accused of belonging to the Islamic State (ISIS) group to prison terms of up to 20 years in the first verdicts issued against dozens of French citizens transferred from Syria to Iraq.
The sentences were handed down last week by Baghdad's Karkh Criminal Court, following the start of trials in September for 47 French nationals accused of joining the extremist group, which controlled large parts of Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2017.
Among those sentenced was a 24-year-old man who was taken to Syria by his mother more than a decade ago. He received a 15-year prison sentence.
When the verdict was announced, the defendant questioned his responsibility, saying in Arabic: "I went to Syria, but it was my mother who chose for me. What is my fault?"
The Islamic State declared a so-called caliphate in 2014, attracting thousands of foreign recruits, including people from across Europe, while imposing its rule through widespread violence and repression.
Despite the group's territorial defeat, alleged members are now facing prosecution in Iraq for crimes committed during its control of parts of the two countries.
France has repatriated hundreds of family members of ISIS members but has declined to bring back most of the men accused of joining the group, leaving them to face trial in Iraq.
The identity of the 24-year-old defendant has been withheld for legal reasons.