Iraq: Trial begins for six Frenchmen suspected of belonging to the Islamic State
Six French nationals appeared before an Iraqi court on Sunday, as thousands of suspects from various nationalities alleged to belong to the Islamic State (IS) remain detained awaiting trial.
An Iraqi judicial source confirmed on Thursday that the trial session had been held, adding that the six French nationals, whose identities were not disclosed, were part of an initial group of 47 French citizens transferred to Iraq in 2025 from neighboring Syria. IS had seized vast territories in Syria and Iraq starting in 2014 before being driven out of both countries, where it committed massacres and atrocities.
Among them is Adrien G., known for his jihadist activities, who claimed responsibility for the attack in Nice (southern France) that killed 86 people on July 14, 2016, France’s National Day.
In recent years, Iraqi courts have handed down death sentences and life imprisonment in terrorism and murder cases linked to affiliation with a “terrorist group,” including against foreigners. In 2019, death sentences were issued against 11 French citizens, which were commuted to life imprisonment on appeal.
Human rights groups have condemned the rushed nature of these terrorism-related trials, noting that they failed to adhere to necessary procedural safeguards.
Many testimonies regarding the brutal violence committed by the extremist group in Iraq remain to be investigated, as numerous mass graves have yet to be fully discovered, with some still unopened.
French lawyers, notified of the approaching trial dates, have urged Paris to urgently repatriate its citizens who face the death penalty.
In a statement published on Thursday, the lawyers denounced the lack of transparency in Iraq’s judicial proceedings and the inability of their clients, whom they believe were denied their right to defend themselves, to be represented.
Iraqi prisons, already overcrowded with members suspected of belonging to IS, now hold thousands of additional prisoners transferred from Syria since last year.
At the beginning of 2026, more than 5,700 individuals from around sixty nationalities, suspected of IS affiliation, were transferred to Iraq after spending years in camps in Syria run by Kurdish forces.
Among them are at least five French citizens, some of whom were minors when their families joined the group.
In early September, the Iraqi judiciary announced the completion of interrogations of more than 5,700 suspected IS members and their transfer to the next judicial stage, involving referral to the relevant courts.
According to the Iraqi Higher Judicial Council, investigations have revealed “a number of highly dangerous elements and top-level leaders” of IS, as well as “information related to serious crimes of an international nature committed against the Yazidi community.”
The Yazidis are a Kurdish-speaking minority following a distinct religion, primarily based in northern Iraq before suffering attacks and persecution by IS starting on August 3, 2014, leading to their mass exodus.
Investigations also led to the handover of a Finnish and an American national to their respective authorities in April, and the release of seven Iraqis. Meanwhile, “necessary procedures are being completed to release 457 Syrian detainees against whom there is insufficient evidence to justify continuing legal proceedings,” according to the Iraqi Higher Judicial Council.
IS controlled large swathes of northern and western Iraq from 2014 until Iraqi forces, backed by the US-led international coalition, drove it back in 2017.
In Syria, where the group was defeated in 2019, thousands of suspects linked to jihadist groups, including foreigners, were detained with their families in prisons and camps administered by the Syrian Democratic Forces until January 2026.
