Paris – France began the trial of three French women on Monday before a special criminal court in Paris on charges of joining the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) between 2014 and 2017.
The defendants are Christine Allain (67), Jennifer Clain (34) (the niece of the two Clain brothers who claimed responsibility for the 2015 Paris attacks) and Mayalen Duhart (42).
In addition to charges of associating with a terrorist organization, Jennifer and Maylane face a separate accusation of “parental neglect”, a legal provision introduced in 2017 targeting parents who brought their children into conflict zones, France 24 reported.
The trial, which runs until September 26, is being conducted before specialist judges without a jury, as is standard practice in terrorism cases. Prosecutors said the women could face up to 30 years in prison, with testimony expected from 21 witnesses.
Investigators noted that Jennifer Clain grew up in a radicalized environment and married Kevin Gonot, who converted to Islam under the influence of his mother, Christine Allain; also a defendant. In 2014, Jennifer and Allain travelled to Raqqa, northern Syria, then under ISIS control.
Also read: Kurdish-led Forces Arrest ISIS Members in Northeast Syria
Mylène Duhart, who converted to Islam later, joined her partner Thomas Collange, who had also been influenced by the Clain family. French media reported that members of the extended Clain family had moved between France and Syria since 2004, with more than 20 relatives eventually settling in ISIS-held territory in 2014–2015.
The three women were arrested in Turkey in 2019 after moving between Syria and Turkey following ISIS’s territorial collapse. They were later extradited to France along with nine children, aged 3 to 13 at the time. Four of Jennifer’s children have been registered as civilian victims in the case and are represented in court by a lawyer.
French authorities describe the Clan family as a “radical family network.” Among its members were Fabien and Jean-Michel Clain, who claimed responsibility for the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks, before being killed in a 2019 airstrike.
Prosecutors argue that Jennifer Clain was not merely a “family companion” but actively embraced ISIS ideology, benefited from its housing and financial resources, and maintained contacts with the group’s members. Jennifer denies this, claiming her activities were limited to childcare.
Her lawyer, Guillaume Halbuck, told the court that she had “renounced her past convictions” while in detention and now seeks only stability and the well-being of her children.
