Baghdad court sentences seven French ISIS operatives to life and 15 years

The headquarters of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council in Baghdad. Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Baghdad’s Karkh Criminal Court sentenced seven French nationals on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, to life imprisonment and a 15-year prison term after convicting them of membership in the ISIS terrorist organization, in a hearing attended by their defense counsel and representatives from the French Embassy in Iraq. According to a formal statement issued by the Supreme Judicial Council’s media office, the court handed down life sentences to six convicts, while the seventh received a 15-year custodial sentence under federal anti-terrorism statutes. Judicial authorities classified the individuals as highly dangerous elements, citing their role in threatening Iraqi national security, destabilizing border areas across Iraq and Syria, and inciting terrorist attacks in other countries. The judicial authority confirmed that the seven convicts were part of a wider contingent of 47 French nationals transferred into Iraqi custody last year from detention camps across northeastern Syria. Following their repatriation to Baghdad, the First Karkh Investigation Court led preliminary interrogations and evidence processing before referring the defendants to the competent criminal court for trial under Iraqi statutory procedures.