Key French ISIS jihadist jailed for 15yrs in absentia, 6 other militants sent to prison

A French member of Islamic State has been sentenced in absentia to 15 years in jail. Salim Benghalem, who has been linked to last year’s Charlie Hebdo attacks, is believed to be in Syria with the jihadist group and is subject to an international arrest warrant.  Six other individuals, the majority of whom returned from Syria and Iraq to France, were given prison sentences of between six and nine years.

Thirty-five-year-old Benghalem, who is still at large, is believed to have had links to Said and Cherif Kouachi who carried out the terror attacks on the headquarters of the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris on January 7, 2015. French intelligence also believe he is a key figure within Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) and plays a major role in helping to recruit new jihadi fighters.
Benghalem, who originates from outside of Paris and has Algerian ancestry, was jailed in 2007 for participating in gang violence. However, he was released in 2010 and is believed to have fled to Yemen, a security source revealed, as cited by AFP.

In February, the 35-year-old jihadist appeared in a propaganda video, where he praised the Charlie Hebdo attacks and warned of more violence. Le Monde newspaper reported in October that Benghalem was the target of a French airstrike over Raqqa, the terror group’s de facto “capital.”
Of those sent to jail, five of the six had traveled to Syria or Iraq to fight for the terrorist group.
The sentencing of the jihadists comes a day after Paris was rocked by an attempted terror attack on the first anniversary of the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

A man wielding a meat cleaver was shot dead by law enforcement officers after he tried to enter a police station on Thursday. He was heard shouting “Allahu Akbar” and wearing what turned out to be a fake suicide belt. 

23 die of starvation in Syrian town

Twenty-three people have died of starvation in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya since December 1, Doctors Without Borders said Friday, as the United Nations prepared an aid delivery to the area.

The UN said there were 40,000 people, half of them children, who needed immediate lifesaving assistance in Madaya, where access has been restricted by pro-regime forces.

Damascus on Thursday gave permission for UN agencies to send relief to the town, following reports of starvation deaths among civilians, many of whom have been displaced from the neighbouring rebel stronghold of Zabadani.

Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym (MSF), said that of the 23 people who died of starvation, six were less than a year old, and five were above 60.

The deaths occurred at the local MSF-supported health centre, the charity said.

Another 13 people who tried to escape in search of food have been killed when they stepped on landmines laid by regime forces or were shot by snipers, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a British-based monitoring group.

“This is a clear example of the consequences of using siege as a military strategy,” MSF’s operations director Brice de le Vingne said in a statement.

Medics had been forced to feed children with medical syrups as the only available source of sugar and energy, he said, describing Madaya as “effectively an open air prison” for nearly half of its residents.

“There is no way in or out, leaving the people to die.”

MSF welcomed the decision from Damascus to allow food supplies, but stressed that “an immediate life-saving delivery of medicine across the siege line should also be a priority.”

In Geneva, UN agencies said the aid convoy would head to Madaya in the coming days, although the specifics were still being finalised.

“The situation is ghastly,” said UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville, indicating that details of the casualties and the extent of the suffering in Madaya were difficult to verify given the limited access.

Despite numerous UN requests, Madaya last received humanitarian assistance in October.

Source : Punch