Iraqi court sentences French woman to life

BAGHDAD: An Iraqi court on Sunday jailed a French woman for 20 years for belonging to the Islamic State group, as her lawyers accused authorities in Paris of "interference" to prevent her returning to France.

Melina Boughedir, a mother of four, was sentenced last February to seven months in prison for "illegal" entry into the country, and was set to be deported back to France. But another court ordered the re-trial of the 27-year-old French citizen under Iraq’s anti-terror law.

On Sunday she was found guilty of belonging to IS and handed a life sentence -- which in Iraq is equivalent to 20 years. "I am innocent", Boughedir told the judge in French. "My husband duped me and then threatened to leave with the children" unless she followed him to Iraq, where he planned on joining IS, she said. "I am opposed to the ideology of the Islamic group and condemn the actions of my husband," she added.