Paris court affirms terrorism conviction linked to Islamic State hostages

In 2025, Syrian national Kais Al-Abdallah was sentenced to 20 years in prison for terrorism charges — including the kidnapping of two French journalists — under the Islamic State group between 2012 and 2014.PARIS (CN) — The Specially Composed Assize Court of Paris affirmed the conviction late Monday of Kais Al-Abdallah, a Syrian national who had been found guilty of terrorism charges, including the kidnapping and imprisonment of two French journalists under the Islamic State group in Syria, in 2025.Al-Abdallah and four others were convicted of participation in a group or conspiracy formed for the purpose of preparing a terrorist offense, over crimes against French journalists Nicolas Hénin and Pierre Torres, who were held captive in Syria between June 2013 and April 2014. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year.On Oct. 7, Torres testified as Al-Abdallah watched intently, listening to an interpreter through headphones. He began speaking in a shaky voice but gradually gained composure as he described the moment five or six armed men forced him into a car in Raqqa, the former Islamic State group stronghold in Syria.“What made me scared was to disappear,” he said. “There was one who hit me with a gun … . They insisted that I keep my head on the ground.”Torres said he tracked the trajectory of the car in his head, and recounted where he was taken clearly to the court. He heard what he said were executions outside the complex where he was being held. He was convinced the group would kill him too.“At that moment I was persuaded, persuaded that they’d kill me the next morning,” he said, adding he tried to think of ways to save his own life. “I knew I wouldn’t escape, that was sure and certain … but I didn’t want to let them kill me.”Henin testified Oct. 2.“This Friday, I once again came face-to-face with Kais al-Abdallah — whom I identified as an Islamic State official in Raqqa and one of the key figures behind the kidnapping of Pierre Torres and myself — during his appeal trial,” he posted on Bluesky. “I was also able to share my conviction — formed over the past few months — that the arrest linked to our kidnapping had been an extraordinary stroke of luck; that his move to Europe was intended to establish a sleeper cell—much like those set up by other ISIS operatives — which his arrest had dismantled.”Al-Abdallah’s story has drawn considerable intrigue; there’s a serious divergence between what investigators say happened and the story he has repeated to the court. The case inspired the 2024 movie “Ghost Trail.”In 2015, Al-Abdallah arrived as a refugee in Germany during the migration crisis, where he enrolled in the Georg-August University of Göttingen as a chemistry student. However, in the months that followed, multiple Syrian refugees told police he wasn’t who he said he was. Instead, they said Al-Abdallah was known as “Abu Hamza the Chemist,” a high-ranking member of the Islamic State group sent to teach foreign jihadists how to make explosives.Investigators found multiple pieces of evidence suggesting his ties to the group. There was a 4,200 page bomb-making tutorial signed by the caliphate on Al-Abdallah’s computer, suggestive Facebook comments and other Islamic State markers across his social media profiles, they said. He has denied any connection to the group.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads