Iraq hands over 188 Turkish children of Daesh Takfiri terrorists
Iraq has handed over nearly 200 Turkish children, whose parents are being held over membership in the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group and other militant outfits, to Turkey to fly home.
Abdul Sattar al-Biraqdar, spokesman for Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, said the handover took place at Baghdad International Airport on Wednesday, and representatives of the Iraqi judiciary, Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Turkish embassy and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) were present until the children got on a plane that would take them home.
“The Central Investigations Court, which is responsible for the terrorism file and foreign suspects, has handed the Turkish side 188 children left behind by Daesh terrorists in Iraq,” Biraqdar added.
The high-ranking Iraqi judiciary official further noted that the figure included a small percentage of adults, who were convicted of illegally crossing the border and having their residencies expired. Children can be held responsible for crimes in Iraq from the age of nine.
Reuters reported in March that about 1,100 children of Daesh terrorists are caught in the Iraqi justice system.
Several hundred children are being prosecuted for offences ranging from illegally entering Iraq to fighting alongside the Takfiri terror group.
Some 185 children, aged nine to 18, have already been convicted and received sentences from a few months to up to 15 years in juvenile detention in Baghdad.
Separately, a Baghdad court sentenced a Frenchman to death for joining Daesh and involvement in acts of terror.
Yassin Sakkam was among a group of 12 French citizens, who were captured by the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Syria and handed over to Iraq in January.
“I admit to having sworn allegiance” to Daesh, Sakkam told the court, saying he was paid $70 (62 euros) a month.
He added that he regretted his decision to join the Takfiri terror group, and asked to be pardoned.
Sakkam, 29, left France in late 2014 to fight for Daesh, posting online pictures of himself carrying arms and speaking to multiple media outlets about the Takfiris.
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