The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and anti-corruption group Sherpa originally filed a complaint against Lafarge 10 years ago, alleging that €5.59m was paid to IS during this time, with “opaque financial arrangements used to conceal these payments and their recipients”.
The BBC reports that Bruno Lafont was sentenced to six years in prison and that Christian Herrault, Lafarge’s former deputy managing director, was given a five-year jail term.
Firas Tlass, who made the payments, was sentenced to seven years in absentia, BBC reported. Local security managers and intermediaries were also convicted.
Al Jazeera reports Lafarge’s fine is €1.1m, with €30m in assets also due to be confiscated.
ECCHR said it was the first time a French company had been convicted of financing a terrorist organisation. It added that “no other terrorism financing case examined by French courts had previously involved such large sums”.
According to ECCHR, more than 190 former Lafarge employees in Syria joined the case as civil parties but the court ruled that individuals cannot qualify as victims of terrorism financing. Ten of them testified.
Mohammed A, a former Lafarge employee and plaintiff, said: “Lafarge was not just doing business, but recklessly put the lives of me and my colleagues at risk – just for financial profits.”
Miriam Saage-Maaß, ECCHR’s legal director, said: “Subject to final ruling, this case may be a good illustration how multinationals doing business in conflict zones can directly fuel armed conflicts and contribute to grave human rights violations committed therein. Companies like Lafarge must be held accountable.”
A statement from former Lafarge employees read: “Lafarge was aware of what was happening to us – the checkpoints, the threats, the daily fear – but chose to risk the lives of its employees for profit.
“We, as former Lafarge employees who testified and on behalf of a large number of former colleagues, each have a different story of suffering, but we are united in our trust in the justice system of France and the certainty that what we endured will not go unpunished.
“We may feel disappointed now, but after 10 years, and although we are still without compensation or recognition of our suffering, we will not give up and will continue to demand our rights and the justice we deserve.”
The ECCHR notes that the company remains under investigation for crimes against humanity.
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