Iraqi courts have sentenced four French citizens to death for fighting with the Islamic State terror group, which once controlled the major Iraqi cities of Mosul, Ramadi, Fallujah and Tikrit. A US coalition of some 70 nations rolled back these gains and has since recaptured all ISIS territory in Syria. The Iraqi judiciary has tried more than 500 foreign members of ISIS since the beginning of last year, although the Frenchmen are believed to be the first westerners to receive the death penalty. France has to date refused to repatriate and put on trial hundreds of citizens who joined ISIS, instead arguing that they should face justice abroad. However, Paris issued a statement that it is “opposed in principle to the death penalty at all times and in all places,” and vowed to take “the necessary steps” to prevent the Iraqi judgments from being carried out. To this end, the French Foreign Ministry said that the detainees were receiving consular and legal assistance ahead of an expected appeal within 30 days. Countries have increasingly grappled with the matter since the recent downfall of the Islamic State’s last stronghold in Syria, where US-allied Kurdish forces are holding thousands of people – including women and children – for alleged ties to the terror organization.
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