Accusations of torture and inhuman treatment in Iraq… Several French jihadists convicted in Baghdad are taking their case to French justice. These detainees, including Djamila Boutoutaou, denounce unworthy conditions of detention and demand their transfer to France.
After the fall of the Islamic State (IS) organization, eleven French people were sentenced to death in June 2019 in Iraq, a sentence commuted to life imprisonment in May 2023. Among them, Djamila Boutoutaou, sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in 2018 , lives in alarming conditions according to her lawyer Marie Dosé: “She is languishing in a filthy prison where she does not benefit from any care. His transfer to France is a health emergency. »
Torture and inhumane treatment
Six of these jihadists, including Djamila Boutoutaou, filed a complaint for torture, inhuman punishment and treatment, as well as arbitrary detention. They believe they did not have the right to a fair trial before the Iraqi courts.
In December 2023, a Parisian judge opened an investigation after the complaint from Brahim Nejara and Vianney Ouraghi, initially refused in 2020 but relaunched after appeal. Recently, the complaints of Karam El Harchaoui and Mohamed Yassine Sakkam suffered a similar fate, while the national anti-terrorism prosecution opened a judicial investigation in November for a sixth complainant, Léonard Lopez.
Damning reports
The detainees’ lawyers presented damning reports, describing “extreme promiscuity” in overcrowded cells with more than 132 prisoners, regular violence, and deplorable sanitary conditions. They report that “the cell leader regularly beats prisoners” and that French detainees are subject to increased attacks, being suspected of “collaborating with the State of Israel” in the context of the war in Gaza.
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For the investigating chamber, the lawyers’ reports constitute a “bundle of clues” which justifies the opening of in-depth investigations. Me Matthieu Bagard, one of the lawyers, welcomes these advances: “These decisions are a reminder of the law, but the real victory will come when the offenses have been recognized. »