TEHRAN, June 03 - An Iraq court on Sunday sentenced a French woman to life in jail for membership of Daesh terrorist group as her lawyers accused authorities in Paris of "interference" to prevent her return to France.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - 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-terrorist law and on Sunday she was found guilty of belonging to Daesh.
"I am innocent," Boughedir told the judge in French, AFP reported.
"My husband duped me and then threatened to leave with the children" unless she followed him to Iraq, where he planned on joining Daesh, she said.
"I am opposed to the ideology of the Islamic group and condemn the actions of my husband," she added.
Her Iraqi lawyer, Nasureddin Madlul Abd, urged the court to acquit Boughedir, describing her spouse as a "jailkeeper not a husband" who had "forced" her to join him in Iraq, AFP reported.
Her French defense team -- William Bourdon, Martin Pradel and Vincent Brengarth -- said they were "relieved" she had been spared the death penalty, but vowed to appeal the verdict.
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