Iraqi Court Sentences Six French Nationals to Life for IS Group Membership
The court imposed the penalties under Iraq’s counterterrorism law, and defense lawyers said they will appeal the ruling.
- On Tuesday, the Karkh Criminal Court in Baghdad sentenced six French nationals to life imprisonment and a seventh to 15 years for Islamic State membership, a Reuters witness confirmed.
- These individuals were among 47 French nationals transferred from detention facilities in Syria to Iraq last year under a relocation arrangement coordinated by The United States and Iraqi authorities.
- Describing the group as "highly dangerous," the court stated their activities threatened Iraq's national security; the judge opted for life imprisonment rather than the death penalty because defendants were young.
- Defense lawyer Abbas al-Maliki announced the group will appeal the verdict in the Court of Cassation, challenging the sentences through Iraq's appellate process.
- Islamic State seized parts of Iraq and Syria in 2014 before a US-led coalition drove them from their caliphate in 2019, though remnant militants continue operating in the region.
23 Articles
23 Articles
On Tuesday, 27 October, the Baghdad court handed down its first verdicts in connection with the trials of French jihadists transferred from Syria in July 2025. Six of the 47 detainees were sentenced to life imprisonment and one to 15 years of criminal imprisonment, and under anti-terrorism law they were facing the death penalty.
Iraqi court sentences six French nationals to life for IS group membership
Six French men were sentenced to life in prison by an Iraqi court on Tuesday for membership of the Islamic State (IS) group, according to a source. They are among 47 French IS group suspects transferred from detention facilities in Syria to Iraq last year under an arrangement coordinated by US forces and Iraqi authorities.
A court in Iraq sentenced six French citizens to life in prison and another to 15 years in prison for being members of the ISIS terrorist group.
Iraqi court sentences six French men to life in prison for Islamic ...
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