An Iraqi court has sentenced seven French nationals to prison for their affiliations with the Islamic State group, marking the first verdicts for French detainees transferred from Syria last year.
On Tuesday, six defendants received life sentences, equivalent to 20 years under Iraqi law, after the judge commuted their death sentences due to their youth and potential for rehabilitation. A seventh defendant, aged 24, was handed a 15-year sentence. His mother had taken him to Syria over a decade ago to join the jihadist group.
The group was part of 47 French nationals transferred to Iraq in 2025 after being held in Syria. Among them is Adrien Guihal, a jihadist linked to the 2016 Nice attack that killed 86 people, though he was not sentenced on Tuesday.
These proceedings form part of Iraq’s broader efforts to prosecute suspected Islamic State members. The jihadist group committed numerous atrocities across Iraq and Syria after seizing territory in 2014. A US-led coalition dismantled its self-proclaimed caliphate by 2019, but remnants of the group still operate.
The court’s verdicts represent a significant step in the legal process for the French detainees, offering a chance for rehabilitation to those spared the death penalty.
