France: twelve years in prison for former IS member Douha Mounib
The special assize court in Paris, in 2022 (photo illustration).
AFP - EMMANUEL DUNAND
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
The "returning" Douha Mounib was sentenced, this Wednesday, March 1, to twelve years in prison with a two-thirds security period.
The special assize court in Paris found her guilty of terrorist criminal association.
The prosecution had requested fourteen years in prison against this midwife by training, prosecuted for having twice joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, between 2013 and 2017, who gave birth to several women on the spot, and who presents today as a repentance.
Decision deemed satisfactory by the defence.
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Transcript,
Laura Martel
It is with great attention and apparent serenity that Douha Mounib listens to President Raviot: twelve years in prison, two-thirds of which are security, a five-year socio-judicial follow-up, accompanied by various obligations.
“
Did you understand?
“, asks the president, before exposing what weighed during the deliberation: “
It is a severe decision which sanctions the gravity of the facts, but the court had difficulties to appreciate the sincerity of your remarks on elements of your journey, your evolution and your disengagement.
The most recent elements are positive, but have been offset by your attempt to escape, which was an important element in the assessment that the court made in relation to your sincerity today , he explains
.
In a benevolent tone, he adds: “
Twelve years is severe, but it is not the end of a life.
It is up to you to continue your development to fit into French society or elsewhere.
Carry on, anyway.
»
“
I was expecting a sentence of more than ten years anyway
,” Douha Mounib confides to him.
"
Good luck, ma'am,
" he replies.
And the accused to say "
thank you
", with a smile.
A rather rare reaction, which is explained according to her lawyer, Me Hazan, by the fact that the young woman has developed the feeling of having been both listened to and well judged.
“
For defendants with significant sentences,
he underlines,
it is fundamental to leave the Assize Court with a favorable perspective, and the bond that the president has woven with her and that she has managed to weave with him will contribute to its positive development, because justice has been done.
»
This Thursday, the court will look into the case of another "ghost", Amandine Le Coz.
► To read also France: fourteen years in prison required against former member of IS Douha Mounib
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