Trial of senior French Daesh extremist opens in Paris

A court sketch made on June 25, 2020 at the Paris courthouse shows French extremist also called the Daesh "emir" Tyler Vilus speaking during the opening of his trial at the special assizes of the Paris' courthouse, on the crimes committed in Syria between 2013 and 2015. (AFP)

• Tyler Vilus is facing charges of belonging to a terrorist group
• Vilus was arrested at an Istanbul airport in July 2015 and was deported to France

PARIS: A French extremist went on trial Thursday on terror charges amid accusations that he oversaw executions in Syria as a senior figure in the Daesh extremist group.
Tyler Vilus, 30, is facing charges of belonging to a terrorist group, heading a group of Daesh fighters and “aggravated murder” between 2013 and 2015. He faces a life sentence if convicted.
Investigators suspect him of being part of the “Al-MuHajjireen” (the immigrants) brigade, a squadron that tortured and carried out summary executions, which he denies.
Vilus is also accused of supervising 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 published by the Daesh’s 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 Bashar Assad’s army — are executed with a bullet to the head.
Vilus was arrested at an Istanbul airport with a Swiss passport in July 2015 and was subsequently deported to France.
His arrest and trial are being seen as a major coup for the French security services, as Vilus is believed to have known many French Daesh in Syria.
Vilus has admitted to being in contact with the man French secret services believe is the mastermind of the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris, Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
Vilus’ mother, dubbed “Mama Jihad” in the French press, traveled three times to Syria in support of her son and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in June 2017 for her “unfailing commitment” to extremism.
Before the hearing, Vilus’ lawyer Louis-Romain Riche deplored that the accused had been kept in isolation for four and a half years, despite his “very calm” behavior.