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Iraq condemns 7th Frenchman to death for IS membership
BAGHDAD, May 29, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A Baghdad court sentenced a Frenchman to
death on Wednesday for joining the Islamic State group, bringing to seven the
number of French jihadists on death row in Iraq.
Yassin Sakkam was among 12 French citizens transferred to Iraqi
authorities in January by a US-backed force fighting the jihadist group in
Syria.
“I admit to having sworn allegiance” to IS, he told the court, saying he
was paid $70 (62 euros) a month.
He added that he regretted his decision to join the group, and asked to be
pardoned.
Sakkam, now 29, left France in late 2014 to fight for IS, posting online
pictures of himself carrying arms and speaking to multiple media outlets
about IS.
He became one of the most notorious jihadists in France, which has been
seeking his arrest since 2016.
Kurdish authorities detained him in Syria in 2017.
His brother Karim carried out a suicide attack at the Iraqi-Jordanian
border in 2015, according to the French Terrorism Analysis Centre (CAT).
Sakkam’s sentence came despite France reiterating its opposition to
capital punishment this week amid a series of similar judgments against
French citizens handed to Baghdad.
Iraq has taken custody of thousands of jihadists in recent months after
they were captured in neighbouring Syria by the US-backed Syrian Democratic
Forces (SDF) during the battle to destroy the IS “caliphate”.
They include hundreds of foreigners suspected of IS membership, raising
the question of whether suspected IS jihadists should be tried in the region
or repatriated.
France has long insisted that its adult citizens captured in Iraq or Syria
must face trial locally, while reiterating its opposition to capital
punishment.
Iraqi law provides for the death penalty for anyone joining a “terrorist
group” — even those who did not take up arms.
Also on Wednesday, an Iraqi court sentenced Tunisian Mohammed Berriri to
death for joining IS, after a hearing lasting less than an hour.
Berriri, 24, admitted to joining the group, saying he thought it was
“defending the weak”, but said he now regretted doing so.
Sakkam and the six other French citizens handed death sentences in recent
days have 30 days to appeal.
The remaining five French suspects face trial in the coming days.
The trials have been criticised by human rights groups, which say they
often rely on evidence obtained through torture.
In a statement sent to AFP, a group representing the families of French
jihadists asked the government in Paris to “do everything possible to stop
this fatal chain of death sentences” and to try them “on our soil”.
On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France was stepping
up efforts to stop Iraq executing those convicted.
BSS/AFP/ARS/1651 hrs