The trial of six French nationals who fought for the Islamic State (ISIS) opened on Sunday in Baghdad, where the defendants — Charlie Sun, Kamel Ben Mbarek, Mehdi Ismaël Sida, Ibrahim Azahaf, Noureddine el-Mansouri, and Najib Megherbi — appeared before a judge for nearly three hours as charges and suspect statements were read aloud. The six are part of a broader group of 47 French nationals held in Syria and transferred to Iraq in 2025 to face trial; all six risk the death penalty under Iraqi law, with the next hearing scheduled for 5 October. Their French lawyers, who are uncertain whether they will be permitted to attend future proceedings, continue to call for repatriation, arguing that the alleged crimes were committed in Syria rather than Iraq, that the defendants may have been tortured in detention, and that Iraqi judicial proceedings lack adequate procedural safeguards — concerns echoed by human rights groups including the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), which notes that some defendants were minors when brought to the region by their parents.