Paris special court opens trial for three women accused of joining so-called Islamic State group

The trial of three women accused of joining the so-called Islamic State (IS) terror group opened at a special court in Paris on Monday.

The trial, which is expected to run until 26 September, is taking place at a special court with no jury, a standard practice in terrorist cases in France.

The defendants are part of what investigators are calling the "Clain Clan", which refers to more than 20 members of the family who left France with their partners and children to go to Iraq and Syria between 2014 and 2015.

According to the indictment, the three women's departure to Syria was part of "a trajectory that had been ideologically committed for over ten years to Salafi-jihadism".

Who are the women?

Jennyfer Clain is the 34-year-old niece of Jean-Michel and Fabien Clain, who were responsible for disseminating IS propaganda and claimed responsibility for the 13 November 2015 series of attacks across Paris, which killed 130 people.

Another defendant is Christine Allain, 67. A former special education teacher, she converted to Islam before joining IS.

The third defendant is Mayalen Duhart, Christine Allain's sister-in-law by marriage, who left France in 2014 and went to Syria.

Jennyfer Clain, Christine Allain and Mayalen Duhart were deported to France in 2019 along with nine children aged between three and 13 and were formally charged.

They had been arrested in Turkey, close to the Syrian border.

The three defendants' departures for Syria were the culmination of "a journey that began around 10 years ago in the Salafo-jihadist ideology," magistrates at the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor's Office said in their indictment.

They will also be prosecuted for endangering the health, safety, morals and education of their nine children by taking them to war zones controlled by known terrorist groups.

What is at stake?

The court will have to assess the actual involvement in IS activities of each of the defendants, their level of commitment, their share of responsibility for terrorist attacks and the position they held within the organisation.

One of the challenges is to prove without reasonable doubt that the three women be considered victims of indoctrination or as active members who voluntarily participated in the activities of a terrorist group.

The children of the accused will also play a role in the trial as civil parties. Mayalen Duhart's four children and the five children Jennyfer Clain has, all of whom were born in France, are being represented by the SOS Victimes 93 association, which supports minors repatriated from Syria.

Jennyfer Clain and Mayalen Duhart are also facing charges of parental neglect, a charge that has existed since 2017 and applies to any parent who takes their children to conflict zones.