BAGHDAD: Iraqi intelligence services are questioning 47 French nationals, recently transferred from Syrian Kurdish custody, over their alleged involvement in crimes committed in Iraq by the Daesh group, officials said Friday.
“Iraq received 47 French nationals over a month ago from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and they are currently under investigation,” an Iraqi security official told AFP on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to brief the media.
“They belong to Daesh,” he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
The official said the security services also had documentary evidence and testimonies from Iraqi suspects that implicated the French nationals in “crimes against Iraqis.”
“They will be tried under Iraqi law,” the official said.
Iraq’s National Intelligence Service confirmed that the French nationals would face trial in Iraq.
It said the suspects were “wanted by the Iraqi judiciary for their involvement in terrorist crimes committed in Iraq” after the group captured swathes of the country in 2014.
Some of them were involved “in activities that threatened Iraqi national security from outside the country,” it added.
Iraqi courts have handed down hundreds of death sentences and life prison terms to people convicted of “terrorism” in trials some human rights groups have denounced as rushed.
Iraqi courts sentenced 11 French nationals to death in 2019, all of whom remain on death row.
French Daesh suspects transferred from Syria to be tried in Iraq
https://arab.news/njg9s
French Daesh suspects transferred from Syria to be tried in Iraq
- Security services also had documentary evidence and testimonies from Iraqi suspects
- “They will be tried under Iraqi law,” the official said
Jordan’s king stresses need to preserve Christian presence in Middle East
- King Abdullah II holds talks with religious leaders in Amman
LONDON: King Abdullah II of Jordan emphasized the importance of preserving a Christian presence in the Middle East on Monday during talks with religious leaders.
In meetings at Al-Husseiniya Palace with Patriarch John X of Antioch and All the East and Archimandrite Metodije of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the king called for an end to the violation of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem by Israel, which he said was seeking to change the historical and legal status quo, the Petra news agency reported.
The king reaffirmed Jordan’s religious and historical role in protecting holy sites under its Hashemite Custodianship.
Crown Prince Hussein, Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, the king’s chief adviser for religious and cultural affairs, Alaa Batayneh, director of the Office of His Majesty, and Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III also joined the talks, the report said.
King Abdullah stressed the need for all parties to adhere to the agreement to end the war in Gaza, ensure the flow of aid and prevent escalations in the occupied West Bank.
