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French teenagers face judge after trying to join Syria 'jihad'

The pair were brought back to France having gone to Turkey in early January with the intention of joining Islamist fighters in Syria.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

Two French teenagers were to face judges on Friday over their attempt to join Islamist fighters to wage "jihad" against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A 15-year-old girl is reported to have left for Syria a week ago, reports RFI.

The two boys, known as Y and A, are 15 and 16 years old respectively.

They could be charged with "participation in a criminal conspiracy in relation to a terrorist enterprise", although pressing charges is rare in cases involving minors and the headmaster of their school in Toulouse has appealed for clemency.

They were brought back to France on 26 and 27 January, having gone to Turkey on 6 January with the intention of joining Islamist fighters in Syria.

Read more of this report from RFI.