A court in Baghdad on Sunday sentenced two French citizens to death for being members of the Islamic State group, including one who last week said he was subjected to torture while in detention, an Iraqi judicial official said.
The sentencings in Iraq come amid controversy about the legal treatment of thousands of foreign fighters who had joined ISIS at the height of its power in Syria and Iraq, when the militant group declared its self-styled caliphate.
Human rights groups are concerned these defendants are being rushed through Iraqi counterterrorism courts in trials that raise questions over whether justice is being done. Convictions are often based on confessions that defendants and rights groups say are extracted by intimidation, torture and abuse and without due process.
The judicial official said the court sentenced to death Fadil Hamad Abdallah, 33, of Moroccan origin and Vianney Jamal Abdelqader, 29.