Two more Frenchmen have been sentenced to death in Iraq for being members of Isis amid rising concerns over the country’s “abusive justice system”.
Vianney Jamal Abdelqader, 29, and 33-year-old Fadil Hamad Abdallah, who claimed he was tortured while in prison, were convicted at a court in Baghdad on Sunday.
They were among a group of 12 French citizens who were detained by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in neighbouring Syria and handed over to Iraq in January.
Nine of them have now been handed death sentences, with the remaining three due to stand trial on Monday.
France made no effort to bring back the captured fighters but President Emmanuel Macron’s government says it is trying to prevent its citizens being executed. None of the sentences have been carried out so far.
However, human rights groups have criticised the way suspects are being rushed through Iraq’s courts, often based solely on confessions rather than material evidence.
“France and other countries should not be outsourcing management of their terrorism suspects to abusive justice systems,” said Human Rights Watch’s acting Middle East director, Lama Fakih.
“These countries should not be sitting idly by while their citizens are transferred to a country where their right to a fair trial and protection from torture are undermined.”
Abdallah made his complaint about being tortured in court last week hand was referred to a medical committee for an examination. They ruled he had made false claims.
“There was sufficient evidence to hand down a death sentence,” the Iraqi prosecutor said of the convictions, which can be appealed. ”They both were fighters of the terrorist Islamic State organisation,”
The SDF has also transferred five other foreign citizens to Iraq, including two Iranians, two Tunisians and a Chinese national, according to an Iraqi intelligence official.
More than 500 suspected foreign Isis members have been tried in Iraq since the start of 2018.
Additional reporting by Reuters and Associated Press
