The sentence was issued after "it was proven they belong to ISIS terrorist group," Judge Abdul Sattar al-Beeraqdar, the High Judicial Council's spokesman, said in a statement.
"The convicted women had confessed during the investigation they joined ISIS, marrying ISIS members and providing logistical aid to the group," al-Beeraqdar added.
Iraq is currently holding some 500 foreign women, each of whom is either facing or slated to face trial.
"In these cases, the women are getting the harshest possible sentences for what appears to be marriage to an ISIS member or a coerced border crossing. The Iraqi courts need to redirect their priorities," Belkis Wille, a senior Iraq researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement released last week.
The Iraqi court said the death sentence of the 16 Turkish women can be appealed.
-PTC News
