Sentenced in 2017 and 2019 for participation in foiled terrorist attacks on French territory, a 25-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man recently lost their nationality.
Their French identity documents were taken away from them. By the voice of decrees signed by Elisabeth Borne and published this week in the Official Journal, the government stripped of their French nationality a Franco-Moroccan and a Franco-Turkish condemned for having planned attacks in France.
Born in Lyon, Unzîle Nûr Sert, 25, was definitively sentenced in 2017 to five years in prison, including six months suspended in 2017 for her participation in a planned attack in Paris foiled in March 2016 targeting a concert hall, two cafes and a shopping center.
“Our client paid her debt to society by serving her sentence several years ago and is now perfectly reintegrated. This forfeiture has no other purpose than that of political display”, declared the lawyers of the young wife, Me Vincent Brengarth and Me Xavier Nogueras.
The lawyers of Unzîle Nûr Sert have also announced that they are preparing to file an appeal before the Council of State against this decree.
19 nationality forfeitures since 2019
Born in Morocco in El Jadida, Karim Kinali, 32, was sentenced in 2019 to seven years in prison for a foiled attack plan in 2015 in Orleans, according to the Center for Terrorism Analysis. Among the potential targets were police officers, gendarmes, the regional prefect and a nuclear power plant.
Since 2019, 19 nationality deprivations have been pronounced for terrorism in France, according to figures from the Ministry of the Interior. In France, only dual nationals can be stripped of their nationality, but not those among them who were born French.
The forfeiture of nationality may be decided in the event of an attack on the fundamental interests of the Nation or in the event of conviction for a crime or terrorist offence. It is pronounced by decree of the Prime Minister, after assent of the Council of State.
