Iraq Opens Trial of Six French Nationals Accused of Islamic State Membership

An Iraqi court in Baghdad has opened the trial of six French nationals accused of belonging to the Islamic State (IS) group.

A member of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council told the court on Sunday that the defendants could face the death penalty if convicted of crimes committed against Iraq and its people.

The six men were among 47 French IS detainees transferred from prisons in northeastern Syria to Iraq last year as part of a relocation process overseen by US forces and Iraqi authorities.

The defendants are being prosecuted under Iraq’s counter-terrorism law. They arrived at the Baghdad Criminal Court in a prison van escorted by Iraqi special forces. They were wearing yellow prison uniforms.

The presiding judge adjourned the hearing until October 5 to give defence lawyers more time to examine the case files.

One court-appointed lawyer, Abbas al-Maliki, said his client was facing charges of membership of the Islamic State.

The Islamic State seized large areas of Iraq and Syria in 2014 before losing most of its territorial control to US-led coalition forces in subsequent years. However, remnants of the group continue to operate in the region.

The United States began transferring IS detainees from Syria to Iraq in January amid concerns about the security of detention facilities in northeastern Syria. Iraq has also been holding discussions with other countries over the repatriation of their nationals and has sought international financial assistance to manage the growing number of detainees.

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