Iraqi court opens trial of six French Islamic State suspects
The men face counter-terrorism charges and could receive the death penalty if convicted, while the judge gave defense lawyers time to review the file.
- On Sunday, Sept 20, 2026, an Iraqi court opened the trial of six French nationals accused of belonging to Islamic State, with a Supreme Judicial Council member stating they could face the death penalty if convicted.
- The defendants are among 47 French Islamic State detainees transferred from Syria last year as part of a broader relocation process overseen by The United States and Iraqi authorities.
- Arriving in a convoy of Humvees, the men wore yellow prison jumpsuits to face counter-terrorism charges; lawyer Abbas al-Maliki represents one defendant while the judge adjourned the hearing until October 5.
- French embassy officials attended the Baghdad criminal court proceedings, though the mission declined to comment; Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein previously sought international financial support for the prisoner influx.
- The United States began transferring Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq in January amid security concerns after Kurdish-led forces lost control of detention facilities in the region.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Iraqi court opens trial of six French Islamic State suspects
An Iraqi court on Sunday opened the trial of six French nationals accused of belonging to Islamic State, with a member of the Supreme Judicial Council telling the court that the suspects could face the death penalty if convicted of crimes committed against Iraq and the Iraqi people.
Among the dozens of French prisoners transferred from Syria is also a man who confessed to being the perpetrator of a terrorist attack in Nice, France, ten years ago.
Six French Islamic State suspects could face death penalty as Iraqi court opens trial
The defendants were among 47 French Islamic State detainees transferred from prisons in northeast Syria last year as part of a broader relocation process overseen by US forces and Iraqi authorities.
Six French nationals suspected of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) organization are being tried from Sunday at the Baghdad Court in Iraq, where they face the death penalty. Iraqi prisons, already filled with ISIS suspects, have welcomed thousands of detainees from Syria since last year.
Some of the alleged French jihadists detained in Iraq must in principle begin to be tried from this Sunday, September 20, 2026. Nearly 50 French people transferred from the north-east of Syria where they had been detained for many years for terrorist offences related to the Islamic State organization are imprisoned in Baghdad. All face the death penalty following expeditious trials.
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