French IS suspects stand trial in Iraq

Iraq's courts are currently trying six French nationals suspected of ties to the Islamic State (IS) group, as the country continues to prosecute thousands of such suspects. Since last year, Iraq has received numerous IS detainees transferred from neighboring Syria. The trial commenced on Sunday morning, with AFP reporters observing prisoner transport vehicles and French diplomatic vehicles arriving at the Baghdad court.

The six French citizens are part of a larger group of 47 transferred from Syria last year. Adrien Guihal, a member of the group, admitted to carrying out the 2016 Nice attack for IS. Despite Iraq's victory over IS in 2017, mass graves and testimonies of the group's brutality remain uninvestigated. For years, Iraq's courts have imposed hundreds of death sentences and life terms on terrorism offenders, including foreign fighters.

In 2019, 11 French nationals received death sentences, which were later commuted to life imprisonment. Human rights groups have criticized Iraq's terrorism trials as rushed and lacking due process. In France, the repatriation of IS suspects and their family members has been a contentious issue, with French lawyers urging the release of the detained French nationals, fearing they may face the death penalty.

In February, over 5,700 IS detainees from more than 60 countries were moved to Iraq from Syrian prisons. Among them were at least five French nationals, some minors upon their parents' recruitment into IS. Earlier this month, Iraq's judiciary announced the completion of interrogations for the French nationals, with the cases moving to trial.

Over 450 Syrians were released after investigations found no evidence warranting legal action. In April, Iraq returned two detained foreigners, from Finland and the US, after they were cleared of suspicion.