France suggests Iraq for international court for ISIS crimes

France’s Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet said they are discussing the idea for an international court for the trial of ISIS members and pointed to the possibility to set up a court in Iraq.

Minister of Justice Belloubet spoke to the RMC radio station about the idea for an international court and said: “This is speculation voiced by many of my counterparts, Interior Ministers and Justice Ministers alike, at the European level.”

The minister said these discussions were being held in the group “Vendome”, which includes Justice Ministers from France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

The Minister of Justice reiterated that the idea of a special court to put ISIS gangs on trial is still at the “speculation” level and added that the court would be set up in the area but not in Syria, possibly in Iraq.

The French minister said there are many difficulties: “Conditions like the Iraqi state’s approval and a ban against the death penalty need to be met.”

The minister said the establishment of such courts always takes a long time.

A similar meeting was held in Stockholm on Monday for the same purpose with 11 European Union member states and Switzerland attending. The technical discussions had parties sharing information but no decisions were made. Authorities say there’s still a long way to go for the establishment of an international court.

The host of the meeting Sweden’s Interior Minister Michael Damberg said the next step is to come to an agreement on what options are to be pursued further. There will also be discussions with the countries in the region to this end-

The Swedish minister will share the outcome of the discussions at a meeting in Luxembourg on Friday with his European Union counterparts. A Swiss delegation will also be present at the meeting.

Source: ANF