Iraqi Court gives life sentence to French man and German woman for ISIS membership

Iraq’s Central Criminal Court sentenced 55-year-old French citizen Lahcen Ammar Gueboudj and 22-year-old German citizen Nadia Rainer Hermann to life in prison after finding them guilty of joining ISIS, Reuters reported. The convicts were sentenced separately and still have the right to appeal the court’s ruling.

Hermann was previously sentenced to a year in prison for illegally crossing the Iraqi border. According to AFP, her mother was earlier sentenced to death for joining the ISIS, but the penalty was later reduced to a 20-year sentence in prison.

ISIS forces were driven from Iraq in December 2017, with their last stronghold, Hawija liberated in October 2017. The Iraqi army was aided by Kurdish forces and the US-led coalition in its fight against the terrorist organization.

In the process of liberating its cities, Iraqi forces arrested a number of people suspected of working or fighting for Daesh.* Hundreds of them are currently awaiting trial. Some 20 foreign citizens, including from Turkey, Germany and Azerbaijan have already been sentenced to death.

The terrorist group invaded Iraq back in 2014, capturing the major city of Mosul in June 2014 and nearly one-third of the state’s territory. Mosul was later recaptured by the Iraqi forces and their allies after a year-long battle in 2016-2017.

Source: Sputnik