French Militant to Be Retried as Prosecutors Seek Life Term

The court found that Vilus supervised executions in Syria as a senior figure in the ISIS extremist group | AFP
The court found that Vilus supervised executions in Syria as a senior figure in the ISIS extremist group | AFP
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French Militant to Be Retried as Prosecutors Seek Life Term

The court found that Vilus supervised executions in Syria as a senior figure in the ISIS extremist group | AFP
The court found that Vilus supervised executions in Syria as a senior figure in the ISIS extremist group | AFP

A French militant given a 30-year jail term last week for crimes committed in Syria, will be retried after prosecutors appealed Thursday seeking life imprisonment.

On Friday, a court jailed Vilus, 30, for crimes committed between 2013 and 2015 when he was a senior figure in the ISIS extremist group, including overseeing the execution of two prisoners.

Vilus was found guilty of all the charges against him, including membership of a terror organization, heading a group of ISIS fighters, and "aggravated murder".

The judges handed down a 30-year prison term, of which Vilus would have to serve at least two-thirds, or 20 years, before parole can be considered.

France's National Anti-Terror Prosecutor's office had sought a life sentence, with a minimum 22 years to be served, and said Thursday it had filed an appeal against the ruling.

The appeal automatically gives rise to a retrial in front of a court that will be specially constituted as this concerns a terror case.

At the original trial, public prosecutor Guillaume Michelin sought the highest sentence arguing Vilus "hasn't changed one bit" since his time with ISIS.

"All the steps in the accused's journey are interlocked with the construction of the caliphate," said the prosecutor, referring to the militant-ruled area that ISIS had carved out in Syria and Iraq.

"It is your responsibility to put a definite end to the bloodshed," he told the court at the time.

But the presiding judge said he wanted to leave the convicted man with "a glimmer of hope" and an opportunity to "evolve".

The trial court found that Vilus had supervised executions as a member of the religious police in the north-eastern Syrian town Ash Shaddadi, close to the Iraqi border.

In a 2015 video released by ISIS' media department, a man alleged to be Vilus is two meters away as two kneeling and blindfolded prisoners -- one belonging to the Free Syrian Army rebel fighters and the other a member of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's army -- are executed with a bullet to the head.

His arrest and trial were seen as a major coup for the French security services, as Vilus is believed to have known many French militants in Syria.

Vilus had admitted to being in contact with Abdelhamid Abaaoud -- the man French secret services believe is the mastermind of the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris.



Israeli Finance Minister Says Banks Should Not Obey EU Sanctions on Settlers

20 July 2022, Israel, Barkan: Right-wing settlers march to build a settlement in the West Bank near Barkan. (dpa)
20 July 2022, Israel, Barkan: Right-wing settlers march to build a settlement in the West Bank near Barkan. (dpa)
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Israeli Finance Minister Says Banks Should Not Obey EU Sanctions on Settlers

20 July 2022, Israel, Barkan: Right-wing settlers march to build a settlement in the West Bank near Barkan. (dpa)
20 July 2022, Israel, Barkan: Right-wing settlers march to build a settlement in the West Bank near Barkan. (dpa)

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Thursday condemned the country's banks that have refused to provide services to Israeli settlers sanctioned by the European Union and warned they may have to pay compensation to them.

The EU last year imposed sanctions on five Israeli settlers for violence against Palestinians and Smotrich said there were reports of sanctions being considered against other settlers.

But in a letter to the banking supervisor, he said Israeli banks should not follow a "zero risk" policy since it leads to the abandonment of Israeli clients "under the guise of compliance with foreign sanctions."

In a statement quoting his letter to the regulator, Smotrich called on banks to use their legal, economic, and international strength to fight "unjust sanctions", Reuters reported.

"The banks’ enormous profits enable them to take measured risks on behalf of their clients — especially when it comes to a national moral injustice," Smotrich, who leads the far-right Religious Zionism party, said.

Should banks continue to comply with sanctions and harm clients, Smotrich said he intended to promote immediate legislation that would require banks to pay substantial compensation to affected customers.

He also intends to require the Bank of Israel itself to offer banking services to citizens targeted by sanctions.

Responding to the letter, the Bank of Israel said that while banks must comply with international sanctions to avoid an array of risks, a draft directive it published on Thursday aimed to ensure appropriate banking services were available for the affected customers.

"Circumventing foreign sanctions regimes through the Israeli banking system exposes banking corporations to multiple risks, including compliance risks, anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing risks, legal risks, and reputational risks," the central bank said.

But it said it has taken steps to comply with sanctions "without banks resorting to blanket refusals to serve such customers."

While the sanctions in question concern Israeli settlers, the EU is reviewing its broad pact governing its political and economic ties with Israel in the face of mounting international pressure on Israel amid complaints about the lack of humanitarian aid reaching Gaza in the wake of the war triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack.