DID Press: An Iraqi court on Tuesday sentenced six French nationals to life imprisonment on charges of membership in the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group, while a seventh French citizen received a 15-year prison sentence.
According to Reuters, the defendants were among 47 French nationals suspected of belonging to ISIS who were transferred from detention facilities in northeastern Syria to Iraq last year under an arrangement coordinated with US forces and Iraqi officials.
The judge said the sentences were issued under Iraq’s counterterrorism law on charges of joining ISIS and spreading fear. He added that the court opted for life imprisonment rather than the death penalty because of the defendants’ young age.
Abbas al-Maliki, a lawyer representing the defendants, said the group would appeal the verdicts before Iraq’s Court of Cassation.
The trial of the French nationals in Iraq began last month.
ISIS seized large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014 but lost the territory under its control in 2019. However, remnants of the group continue to operate.
The United States announced in January that it had begun transferring ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq. The move followed concerns over security at detention facilities in northeastern Syria and the loss of control over parts of the region by Kurdish-led forces.