500 Foreign ISIS Members Convicted in Iraq

The Iraqi judiciary has tried and sentenced more
than 500 foreigners since the start of 2018 for joining ISIS, the country's
Supreme Court announced on Wednesday.
It said "514 verdicts were issued, for both men
and women, while another 202 accused are still being interrogated and 44 are
still being tried."
Another 11 were acquitted and released, it said.
The statement referred to "different
nationalities" but did not list any specific countries.
It said interrogations were taking about six months
for those simply accused of ISIS membership, but anyone accused of actively
taking part in the extremist group's operations could be questioned for up to a
year.
Iraq declared victory over ISIS in late 2017 and
began trying foreigners accused of joining the militant group the following
year.
It has condemned many to life in prison, including
58-year-old Frenchman Lahcen Ammar Gueboudj and two other French nationals.
It has also issued death sentences for other foreign
ISIS members, although they have not yet been carried out.
Among those awaiting trial in Baghdad are 12 accused
French ISIS members, who were caught in Syria and transferred to Iraqi custody
in February.
Government sources have told AFP that Baghdad would
be willing to try all foreigners currently held in Kurdish detention in
northeast Syria for a price.
Around 1,000 suspected foreign ISIS militants are in
detention in northeast Syria, in addition to around 9,000 foreign women and
children in camps there.
Wednesday's statement by the court "urged all
trials of foreign terrorists to be moved to Baghdad, as most of the embassies
are in the capital and so embassy representatives from the terrorists'
countries can attend the sessions."
Iraq has also already tried thousands of its own
nationals arrested on home soil for joining ISIS, including women.
It has begun trial proceedings for nearly 900 Iraqis
repatriated from Syria and sentenced four to death last month under its
counter-terrorism law.