PARIS: A French court on Friday handed jail sentences of up to 13 years to three women for joining the Daesh group in Syria, including the niece of notorious militant propagandist brothers.
Jennyfer Clain, 34, whose uncles Jean-Michel and Fabien Clain had publicly claimed responsibility on behalf of Daesh for the Paris attacks on November 13, 2015, was sentenced to 11 years for belonging to Daesh.
Her sister-in-law, Mayalen Duhart, 42, was given 10 years and 67-year-old Christine Allain, the women’s mother-in-law, 13 years.
Earlier in court, Jennyfer Clain had apologized to all “direct and indirect victims” of the militants, “in France, Syria, Iraq and elsewhere.”
The Daesh group seized swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq during the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 and left hundreds of thousands dead, and loudly took responsibility for atrocities around the world.
During the worst attack on Paris since World War II, militant gunmen and suicide bombers killed 130 people at the Bataclan concert hall and elsewhere.
The Clain brothers are presumed to have died during the military campaign by US-backed Kurdish groups that eventually defeated Daesh in 2019.
Three years later, the siblings were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment without parole.
“I am not asking them to forgive me, it is unforgivable, but I offer them my deepest and most sincere apologies,” Jennyfer Clain said, referring to the victims.
Jennyfer Clain went to the Middle East with four children, and her fifth baby was born in Raqqa, the city Daesh militants claimed as their capital.
Duhart brought her four children with her and had a baby there, who died at seven months.
Weeping in court, Jennyfer Clain asked her five children, who have been placed in foster care since their return to France in 2019, for forgiveness.
“I am sorry for everything they have been through because of me,” said Clain, who is also on trial for abandoning minors. “I have failed in my role as a mother.”
“I am not a victim,” Duhart said. “The victims are the others, those who were tortured and massacred by the organization I belonged to. I am responsible.”
Earlier this week the presiding judge had pointed out to the three women that they had not said anything about the victims of the attacks.
Allain said that she had been touched by her meeting in prison with Georges Salines, the father of Lola Salines, one of the victims killed at the Bataclan.
Jennyfer Clain’s lawyer, Guillaume Halbique, welcomed the “balanced” verdict for his client, adding she was unlikely to appeal.
“Her ideological commitment (to Daesh) is completely behind her and has been for many years,” he added.
French court jails three women who joined Daesh in Syria
https://arab.news/r6z7y
French court jails three women who joined Daesh in Syria
- Jennyfer Clain, 34, was sentenced to 11 years for belonging to Daesh
- Her sister-in-law, Mayalen Duhart, 42, was given 10 years and 67-year-old Christine Allain, the women’s mother-in-law, 13 years
Nigeria seeks French help to combat insecurity, says Macron
- African country has witnessed violence and mass kidnappings from schools
LAGOS: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has sought more help from France to fight widespread violence in the north of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, weeks after the United States threatened to intervene to protect Nigeria’s Christians.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has witnessed an upsurge in attacks in volatile northern areas in the past month, including mass kidnappings
from schools and a church.
US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians. The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
FASTFACTS
• US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians.
• The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
Macron said he had a phone call with Tinubu on Sunday, where he conveyed France’s support to Nigeria as it grapples with several security challenges, “particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”
“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” Macron said in a post on X.
Macron did not say what help would be offered by France, which has withdrawn its troops from West and Central Africa and plans to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance.
Nigeria is grappling with a long-running insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest and deadly clashes between largely Muslim cattle herders and mostly Christian farmers in the central parts of the country, stretching its security forces.
Washington said last month that it was considering actions such as sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to compel Nigeria to better protect its Christian communities.
The Nigerian government has said it welcomes help to fight insecurity as long as its sovereignty is respected. France has previously supported efforts to curtail the actions of armed groups, the US has shared intelligence and sold arms, including fighter jets, and Britain has trained Nigerian troops.
