Inquiry opens into Frenchman held in Iraq 04/10/2006 00:00

PARIS, Oct 3, 2006 (AFP) - The Paris public prosecutor on Tuesday opened a judicial inquiry allowing a French judge to investigate the detention in Iraq of a Frenchman captured by US forces whilst allegedly fighting alongside rebels, the lawyer for the man's family said.

Peter Chetif was arrested in December 2004 west of Baghdad during a US military operation and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for illegally entering the country. US forces believe he was fighting on the rebel side.

First held at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison, Cherif was then transferred to a jail near Mosul in northern Iraq.

In March the 24-year-old's mother filed a suit alleging illegal arrest, detention, torture, and a failure by authorities to free her son.

The family's lawyer, Eric Plouvier, asked French authorities in September to give Chetif diplomatic protection and requested a copy of the Iraqi criminal court's July verdict.

Chetif was part of a group of young French citizens who went to fight in Iraq, at least three of whom have been killed. In total nine French citizens have been killed in combat in Iraq, according to the French authorities.

Copyright AFP

Subject: French news