ISIS member in France sentenced to 30 years in prison

French Islamist Tyler Vilus has been sentenced in Paris to 30 years in prison for crimes committed in Syria. The jihadist was accused, among other things, of having participated in the murder of two prisoners.

French ISIS member Tyler Vilus has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for crimes committed in Syria. He must serve at least 22 years of that sentence before he can apply for early release, a Paris court decided on Friday. Vilus had been arrested at Istanbul airport in the summer of 2015 with a forged Swedish passport and deported to France. He has been in prison since then.

The trial against Vilus concerned crimes committed in Syria between 2013 and 2015, and the Islamist was accused, among other things, of involvement in the murder of two prisoners and the leadership of members of the ISIS. The shooting of the two prisoners – a fighter of the former FSA (Free Syrian Army) and a Syrian regime soldier – was filmed. In the footage published by the ISIS, Vilus can be seen standing a few meters away, hooded and armed.

Attorney General Guillaume Michelin, who had called for a life sentence in the Paris trial, described Vilus as a key figure in the French-speaking jihadist scene. “He knows almost all of them,” Michelin said about the 30-year-old’s connections to other Islamists. At the same time, he attested that the accused had “not changed a bit” since his time with the ISIS. Vilus was also in contact with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, whom the French secret services consider to be the mastermind behind the Parisian terrorist attacks of November 2015.

After his arrival in the Aleppo region of northern Syria, Vilus was named “ISIS policeman” and “emir” (group leader) of a group of French jihadists, according to investigators. One year later he went to Shaddadi, which is located further east. The city is located near the Iraqi border and at that time was considered one of the strongholds of the ISIS. The prosecution pointed out that Vilus had also participated in “purges” and boasted of its “murderous efficiency”. He was found guilty on all charges.

The court refrained from imposing a life sentence demanded by the public prosecutor’s office. Judge Laurent Raviot justified this with Vilus’ confession at trial that he wanted to “die with his weapons in his hands”. There is a “glimmer of hope” that Vilus will change, the judge said.

Mother also convicted of ISIS affiliation

Tyler Vilus’ mother Christine Rivière, also known as “Jihadi Granny”, was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2017 for ISIS support. The now 54-year-old had visited her son several times in Syria.