Death penalty for French suspects

BAGHDAD — Seven French citizens accused of supporting the Islamic State came before an Iraqi judge in a Baghdad courtroom this week.

They stated their occupations: tax collector, Arabic teacher, military trainer, chicken seller, medical aide. Two said they were fighters.

Each admitted having joined the Islamic State, but no evidence was presented that any had committed a violent crime. Most had not seen a lawyer until moments before they were escorted into the courtroom. One said he had been tortured.

None of that made any difference.

In seven trials over four days, Judge Ahmed Mohamed Ali delivered seven identical sentences: death by hanging.

“The penalty is the death sentence whether they fought or not,” he said after court adjourned Monday.

About 3,000 foreigners suspected of having ties to the Islamic State are being held in Syria and at least 1,000 in Iraq, posing an international dilemma. Most of their home countries don’t want them back.

The trials this week were the first of French citizens captured in Syria and transferred to Iraq by U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, and were held with the assent of France. They have drawn world attention as a test of whether Iraqi courts can meet international standards for a fair trial and provide a just solution to one of the most vexing problems left in the aftermath of the battle against the Islamic State: what to do with its legions of followers.

France, a country that prides itself as a champion of human rights and opponent of the death penalty, essentially outsourced the judicial process to Iraq.