GETTY A pair of female prisoners have been charged with making death threats against other inmates

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The two radical Muslims, known only as 35-year-old Nadia A.M. and 29-year-old Vanessa C., have also been accused of “proselytising” and are due to appear in court today. The women, who have been described as “incredibly violent” by their cellmates, are currently being held at the Fleury-Mérogis prison near Paris, Europe’s largest prison and a well-known hotbed of Islamist activity.

The pair, who both gave birth in prison last May, had been staying at the facility’s minimum-security nursery, where they had been sent to live with their newborns for 18 months. According to the plaintiffs, Nadia A.M. and Vanessa C.’s month-long “reign of terror” began during their stay at the nursery, where they enjoyed “relative freedom”.

GETTY The two radical Muslims have been accused of 'proselytising'

The two women – who are said to be linked to other radicalised inmates – were violent and disrespectful towards their inmates, and tried to “force” some of the young mothers to convert to Islam.

They are said to have physically and verbally abused their cellmates and their children

They are said to have physically and verbally abused their cellmates and their children. And the pair are also said to have literally “twisted the arms” of ‘non-believers’ who did not share their radical views.

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GETTY The pair have been described as 'incredibly violent' by their cellmates

They are also said to have falsely accused prison guards of attacking them after “intentionally” throwing themselves down flights of stairs, and to have told people that they were “possessed by jinns” – supernatural beings mentioned in the Koran. The women were “particularly aggressive” and “threatened to set fire to the prison” more than once, the plaintiffs added. The mothers initially refused to speak out because they were “afraid” of what Nadia A.M. and Vanessa C. would do to them if they did, Marcel Duredon, a Fleury-Mérogis official said.

GETTY The women are said to have tried to force some of the young mothers to convert to Islam