The Justice of Iraq has issued this Tuesday life sentences against six French citizens for their membership in the terrorist organization Islamic State, while a seventh defendant has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the same charge.
These seven convicted individuals were part of a contingent of 47 French nationals who would have been transferred from detention centers located in northeastern Syria to Iraq, as part of a reorganization process carried out a year ago thanks to cooperation between U.S. forces and Iraqi authorities.
In an official note, the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq has stated that the seven have been declared guilty of being part of the jihadist group in a trial in which they had Iraqi legal assistance — French lawyers were unable to attend — and with the presence of representatives from the French Embassy in Iraq.
The judicial authorities have classified the sentenced individuals as "highly dangerous," in light of the role they would have played in the past that "endangered the security of Iraq" and favored greater "destabilization" both in the country and in neighboring Syria. "The accused incited the perpetration of terrorist operations in other countries," emphasizes the statement.
"It is important to highlight that they are part of the group of 47 French nationals who were transferred from Syria last year," the agency has insisted, which has closed the procedure without applying the death penalty.