This file picture shows a view of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq in the capital Baghdad.
A court in Iraq has sentenced more than a dozen Turkish women to death over membership in the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and involvement in acts of terror across the conflict-ridden Arab country.
A judicial official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Central Criminal Court sentenced 15 female Turkish citizens to death, while another Turkish woman was condemned to life imprisonment.
On February 22, Arabic-language al-Sumaria television network quoted Iraq’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Mahjoub as saying that Iraqi authorities had extradited four women and 27 children from the families of Daesh Takfiri terrorists to Russian officials.
“There was no proof that those extradited had been involved in terrorist operations against Iraqi civilians or security forces,” Mahjoub said, adding, “They will be prosecuted in Russia for illegally entering Iraq.”
Iraq’s Arabic-language al-Mashriq newspaper has reported that more than 1,500 women and children from the families of Daesh militants are currently being held in the country, and that the Baghdad government is coordinating with their respective countries to decide their fate.
Iraqi government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi has stated, “All foreign nationals who have committed crimes and acts of terror against Iraqi people, either directly or through support for Daesh terrorists, will be subject to the Iraqi law.”
He added, “This also applies to foreign women of Daesh militants. The government is coordinating with the countries to which the detainees belong. They will be handed over to their respective countries once they are found not to have committed criminal acts or engaged in killings and bombings in Iraq.”
Last month, Iraq’s Central Criminal Court issued a death penalty by hanging for a German citizen of Moroccan origin in accordance with Anti-Terrorism Law.
Abdul Sattar al-Biraqdar, spokesman for the Supreme Judicial Council, said the woman, whose identity was not disclosed, had confessed during investigations that she traveled from Germany to Syria and then to Iraq, because she had a strong belief in Daesh.
The German citizen was accompanied with her two daughters, who later married members of Daesh terrorist group.
“The woman is accused of providing logistical support to the terrorist organization, and helped them commit their criminal acts. She is also convicted of complicity in attacking Iraqi security forces,” Biraqdar said.