joining
the Islamic State (IS) militant group.
The men – named as Kevin Gonot, Leonard Lopez and Salim Machou
by AFP news agency – have 30 days to appeal.
They were among 12 French citizens captured in Syria by
US-backed fighters. In February they were transferred to Iraq for trial.
The three are the first IS suspects from France to be sentenced
to death.
How do countries deal with IS returnees?
How many IS foreign fighters are left?
France has yet to react to Sunday’s court ruling in Baghdad. But when pressed on the issue in February, French President Emmanuel Macron declined to comment, saying it was a sovereign matter for Iraq.
How many IS foreign fighters are left?
France has yet to react to Sunday’s court ruling in Baghdad. But when pressed on the issue in February, French President Emmanuel Macron declined to comment, saying it was a sovereign matter for Iraq.
Human rights groups have heavily criticised the trials of
suspected IS fighters in Iraq. Activists they say the courts often rely on
circumstantial evidence or confessions made under duress.
What do we know about the three?
Gonot, 32, is from south-eastern France. He is believed to have entered Syria through Turkey to join the al-Nusra Front, a branch of al-Qaeda, before pledging allegiance to IS.
Gonot, 32, is from south-eastern France. He is believed to have entered Syria through Turkey to join the al-Nusra Front, a branch of al-Qaeda, before pledging allegiance to IS.
He was arrested in Syria with his mother, his wife, and his
half-brother in December 2017. A French court has also sentenced him in
absentia to nine years in prison.
Machou, 41, belonged to an IS cell composed of European fighters
that has carried out attacks in Iraq and Syria and planned others in Paris and
Brussels, according to the Centre d’Analyse du Terrorisme (CAT), a French think
tank.
Lopez, a 32-year-old from Paris, also travelled with his wife
and two children to IS-held Mosul in northern Iraq before entering Syria, CAT
quotes French investigators as saying.
Why were they transferred to Iraq?
IS once controlled vast swathes of territory stretching across Syria and Iraq. After years of fighting, Iraq declared victory on its side of the border in late 2017.
IS once controlled vast swathes of territory stretching across Syria and Iraq. After years of fighting, Iraq declared victory on its side of the border in late 2017.
On the Syrian side, the main offensive was led by a US-backed
alliance of Arab and Kurdish fighters, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The
group captured the last stronghold held by the jihadists in March.
An estimated 1,000 foreign fighters – as well as many women and
children – are estimated to be in SDF custody.
Iraq has offered to try all foreign fighters held by the SDF.
Several hundreds have been transferred for trial by Iraqi courts but none have
so far been executed.
Islamic State group: The full story
After the caliphate: Has IS been defeated?
What has happened to foreigners who joined IS?
More than 41,000 people from dozens of countries are estimated to have joined IS in Syria and Iraq – about a quarter of them women and children.
After the caliphate: Has IS been defeated?
What has happened to foreigners who joined IS?
More than 41,000 people from dozens of countries are estimated to have joined IS in Syria and Iraq – about a quarter of them women and children.
The vast majority of IS militants are believed to have been
either killed or captured. It is unclear how many foreigners have died.
Researchers suggest at least 7,000 have travelled back to their
countries of origin.
Those countries have raised concerns about bringing hardened
jihadists back and the challenges of gathering evidence to support
prosecutions.
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READ FULL NEWS : https://usacnnnews.com/2019/05/26/islamic-state-iraq-sentences-french-citizens-death/
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