Iraqi court sentences seven French nationals

An Iraqi court has sentenced seven French nationals to prison for belonging to Islamic State, handing down the first verdicts in proceedings involving French detainees transferred from Syria.

Six receive life sentences after death penalty commuted

Six defendants received life sentences, equivalent to twenty years in prison under Iraqi law, after the judge commuted their death sentences, citing their youth and prospect of rehabilitation.

“commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment, given that you are young, in order to offer you a chance in the future ... to turn your lives around”

Seventh defendant sentenced to fifteen years

A seventh defendant, aged twenty four, was sentenced to fifteen years. His mother had taken him to Syria more than a decade ago when she joined the jihadist group.

Four defendants named in the ruling

The six defendants sentenced to life imprisonment included Mehdi Sida, Anas Alaouchiche, Azeyed Abbasi and Lakhdar Sebouai, according to the French spellings of their names provided by the judge.

Charges: membership and spreading terror

They were found guilty of belonging to the terrorist group Daesh and of having worked with members of the group to spread terror, according to a journalist at the scene.

Forty seven French nationals transferred from Syria

The seven were among forty seven French nationals transferred to Iraq in twenty twenty five after being held in neighbouring Syria.

Adrien Guihal among wider group of detainees

Among the wider group of forty seven French nationals is Adrien Guihal, a veteran of the French jihadist movement who claimed responsibility on behalf of Islamic State for the Nice attack of fourteen July twenty…

Nice attack killed eighty six people

The attack in the southern French city killed eighty six people. Guihal was not among those identified as receiving sentences on Tuesday.

Iraq prosecuting hundreds of Islamic State members

The proceedings form part of Iraq's efforts to prosecute suspected members of Islamic State. Baghdad has tried hundreds of alleged members in recent years, including many foreign nationals.

Islamic State seized territory in twenty fourteen

The jihadist group committed atrocities across Iraq and neighbouring Syria after seizing vast swathes of territory in twenty fourteen.

Verdicts mark new stage in French detainee cases

Tuesday's verdicts mark a new stage in the cases of the French detainees, with the court imposing lengthy prison terms while explicitly holding out the possibility of rehabilitation for the six spared the death penalty.