It has recently been reported that Iraq has condemned to death about 15 Turkish women because of their link with ISIS. The Iraqi criminal court sentenced to death the women after finding them guilty of belonging to the Islamic State group. It was stated that one of the Turkish women, who was also accused of joining the jihadist group, was given a life sentence, adding they had all acknowledged the charges against them. All of the women were accompanied by their children and were dressed in black. Their ages ranged between 20-25 years old.
One of the Turkish women did admit in her statement that she made her way to Iraq illegally to join their husbands who were heading to fight as for the purpose of the self-proclaimed “caliphate” straddling vast areas of Iraq and Syria. One of the women even told the judge that she has often taken participation in the fight as against the Iraqi forces alongside the jihadists.
Furthermore, not long after the sentencing, another group of foreign widows of ISIS fighters told a court hearing attended by an AFP journalists that they had been fooled or threatened by their husbands to head to Iraq. Iraq, which has detained at least 560 women, as well as 600 children, identified as jihadist or relatives of suspected ISIS fighters, is wasting no time in putting them on trial.
Iraq’s anti-terrorism law empowers the courts to convict those who are believed to have helped ISIS, even if they are not accused of carrying out attacks. It also allows for the death penalty to be issued against anyone – including non-combatants – found guilty of belonging to ISIS.