Conflict & Security
Iraq opens trial of six French citizens accused of ISIS membership
September 20, 2026 at 06:27 AM · Updated 26d ago
Coverage
3 reports · over 13 hours
Iraq has begun the trial of six French citizens suspected of belonging to the Islamic State, amid the prosecution of thousands of foreign detainees transferred from Syria.
- Six French citizens, whose identities were not disclosed, appeared before Iraqi courts Sunday on suspicion of ISIS membership, part of a first group of 47 French nationals transferred from Syria in 2025.
- Among the defendants is Adrien Guihal, who claimed responsibility in the group's name for the July 2016 Nice attack in France that killed 86 people.
- The Supreme Judicial Council announced in early September it had completed investigations into 5,704 ISIS suspects transferred from northeastern Syria, referring them to trial courts.
- Lawyers for French detainees have demanded Paris repatriate them, warning they could face the death penalty.
- The Baghdad criminal court postponed the trial until October 5 to give defense lawyers time to review the case files, with French embassy officials attending the session.