📰 French court jails woman for 10 years over ISIS membership

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A French court in Paris sentenced a woman to ten years in prison on Thursday after convicting her of joining the Islamic State (ISIS) following her return from camps in northeast Syria. The Special Criminal Court found Carole Saun, 30, guilty of belonging to a “terrorist organization” after a three-day trial. furthermore to the prison term, she was placed under judicial and social supervision for five years after release and ordered to undergo psychological treatment. Furthermore, the case dates back to the summer of 2014, when Saun left France at the age of 18 with her elder brother and traveled to Syria. In December 2017, she was detained by the Syrian Democratic troops (SDF) as ISIS collapsed along the Euphrates River.

She was repatriated to France in July 2022 as part of the first significant-scale operation in which Paris returned dozens of women and children from Syrian camps, including al-Hawl. In fact, during the hearings, prosecutors noted that women account for more than one-third of the estimated 1,500 French nationals who traveled to ISIS-held areas in Syria and Iraq. Of these, 160 women have returned, and 30 have faced trial before the Special Criminal Court since 2017. Investigations disclosed that Saun was influenced by extremist propaganda spread on social media.

She cited past psychological trauma, including a gang sexual assault during her adolescence, as part of her explanation for joining ISIS. Notably, the presiding judge stated Saun, from a Christian family in suburban Paris, had established ties in Syria with individuals known for involvement in severe hostilities, including fighters linked to the November 2015 Paris attacks. Court records showed she married French preacher Salahuddin Guiton upon arrival in Syria, whom she had met online. He was killed in battle days later.

In fact, she later married an ISIS intelligence officer, whom she described to her mother as someone who “eliminates traitors. ” He is currently detained in Iraq. By Atoun Jan