PARIS (Reuters) – The French foreign ministry said on Monday it was opposed in principle to the death penalty, but also said it accepted Iraqi sovereignty as Iraq’s justice ministry sentenced three French citizens to death for their membership of Islamic State.
“The French embassy in Iraq, in its role as provider of consular protection, is taking the necessary steps to convey its position (against the death penalty) to the Iraq authorities,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministry added that it respected the sovereignty of the Iraq authorities and that Islamic State members “had to answer for their crimes”, which carry the death penalty in Iraq.
Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Luke Baker
