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Six French nationals suspected of links to ISIS could face the death penalty in Iraq.
A representative of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council made the announcement during a court hearing in Baghdad on Sunday. The defendants are accused of crimes against Iraq and its people and are being tried under the country’s counterterrorism laws.
Trial adjourned
The judge presiding over the hearing adjourned the proceedings until Oct. 5 to give defense lawyers additional time to review the case materials.
According to court sources, the defendants were among 47 French ISIS detainees transferred to Iraq last year from prisons in northeastern Syria under the supervision of Iraqi officials and US forces.
Abbas al-Maliki, who is representing one of the defendants through state-funded legal assistance, said his client faced only one charge: membership in ISIS.
Representatives of the French Embassy also attended the hearing. The embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trials of foreign ISIS members in Iraq
The case is the latest in a series of long-running trials in Iraq involving foreign ISIS members. Baghdad courts have prosecuted hundreds of foreigners detained after the militant group was defeated, following the start of prisoner transfers by Kurdish forces.
Previous verdicts have ranged from lengthy prison terms to the death penalty. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said in February that Iraq was negotiating with other countries over the repatriation of their nationals. He also said international financial support had been requested to help manage the growing number of detainees.
ISIS seized large areas of Iraq and Syria beginning in 2014. The group was driven from its territorial strongholds five years later by a US-led coalition. Although its territorial “caliphate” was dismantled, its remnants continue to operate in both countries.
