On Friday, September 26, a French court sentenced three women to prison terms of up to 13 years for joining the Islamic State (IS) group in Syria, including the niece of prominent jihadist brothers.
Jennifer Klein, 34, whose uncles Jean-Michel and Fabien Klein publicly claimed responsibility on behalf of ISIS for the November 13, 2015, attacks in Paris, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for belonging to ISIS. Her daughter-in-law, 42-year-old Mayalene Duarte, received 10 years, and 67-year-old Christine Allen, the women's mother-in-law, received 13 years. Earlier in court, Jennifer Klein apologized to all "direct and indirect victims" of jihadists "in France, Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere."
ISIS seized vast swathes of Syria and neighboring Iraq during the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 and left hundreds of thousands dead, and has loudly claimed responsibility for atrocities around the world. In the worst terrorist attack in Paris since World War II, jihadist militants and suicide bombers killed 130 people at the Bataclan concert hall and other locations.
The Klein brothers are presumed dead during the military campaign by US-backed Kurdish groups that ultimately defeated ISIS in 2019. Three years later, the siblings were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment without parole.
"I don't apologize to them, it's unforgivable, but I offer them my deepest and most sincere apologies," Jennifer Klein said, referring to the victims. She traveled to the Middle East with her four children, and her fifth child was born in Raqqa, the city ISIS militants have declared their capital.
Duarte brought her four children with her and gave birth to a baby there, who died at seven months old. In a tearful court appearance, Jennifer Klein apologized to her five children, who were placed in foster care after returning to France in 2019. "I regret everything they had to endure because of me," said Klein, who is also on trial for abandoning minors. "I failed in my role as a mother."
"I'm not a victim," Duarte said. "Victims are others, those who were tortured and killed by the organization I belonged to. I bear responsibility."
Earlier this week, the presiding judge pointed out to three women that they had not spoken about the victims of the attacks. Allen said she was moved by her meeting in prison with Jorge Salines, the father of Lola Salines, one of the victims killed at the Bataclan.
Jennifer Klein's lawyer, Guillaume Albic, welcomed the "balanced" verdict for his client, adding that she is unlikely to appeal. "Her ideological commitment [to ISIS] is completely in the past, and it has been there for many years," he added.