ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The fate of Islamic State (ISIS) foreign fighters is a matter for Iraq’s courts to decide, Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi told reporters on Tuesday, after Iraq’s judiciary denied striking a deal with France to commute death sentences to life imprisonment.
“Of course we understand [the] point of view of any of our friends, but there are no deals. There are no contracts about such issues. There is a law. We will apply the law. And we will discuss everything in the correct time,” Abdul-Mahdi told reporters in his weekly press conference in Baghdad on Tuesday.
Although Iraq has discussed the cases of foreign fighters with other governments, “it is a question really that the law should decide. It is not for the prime minister to decide,” he added.
Earlier this year the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) handed over 11 French nationals captured in Syria to stand trial in Baghdad. Iraq has offered to prosecute foreign fighters in exchange for billions of dollars in aid.
All 11 Frenchmen were subsequently sentenced to death.
France has declared its opposition to the death penalty, and Paris was rumored to have secured a deal to commute the sentences to life in prison.
Iraq’s judiciary has denied striking a deal, insisting the death penalties can only be overturned on appeal.
“We are committed to apply our law, and we will apply our law. We don’t have any deal,” Abdul-Mahdi said.
Defendants have 30 days to appeal their sentence under Iraqi law.
A German woman convicted of ISIS membership saw her death penalty commuted to a life sentence on appeal.
Baghdad’s courts have convicted more than 500 foreign nationals for ISIS membership since 2018.
Human rights groups have criticized Iraq’s fast-track justice system and its willingness to impose the death penalty. The courts are accused of violating due process and using confessions obtained under torture.
Western countries are reluctant to take back their nationals as they fear prosecutors will not be able to obtain sufficient evidence to secure a conviction.
Source: rudaw.net, Staff, June 12, 2019
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