Countries stall repatriation of ISIS detainees held in Iraq
Shafaq News- Baghdad
Several governments are delaying the repatriation of their nationals held in Iraq over alleged links to ISIS after their transfer from prisons in northeastern Syria, an Iraqi government source told Shafaq News on Thursday.
The source said more than half of the transferred detainees had been questioned and that investigators had obtained documented confessions from many. “Baghdad is seeking guarantees that foreign detainees returned to their home countries will face fair legal proceedings or serve sentences imposed against them.”
Some governments have been reluctant to take back detainees they consider “a security risk,” according to the source, despite preliminary understandings Iraq has reached with several Arab and foreign states.
The source cited France and Morocco among countries with which Baghdad had held talks, but said no transfers had yet taken place under those understandings. Iraq has previously secured or pursued repatriation arrangements with countries including Turkiye, Russia and Canada.
Baghdad plans to intensify diplomatic and legal efforts to return foreign detainees after the remaining US-led Coalition forces leave Iraq, a withdrawal scheduled to be completed by Sept. 30, the source said. US military officials have said the drawdown remains on track.
Read more: ISIS detainee transfers test Iraq’s post-Coalition security
The fate of Syrian detainees was also a central issue during Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zidan’s Aug. 13 visit to Damascus, according to the source. Zidan discussed a proposed agreement with Syrian officials on transferring Syrian detainees held in Iraq and determining how their cases would be prosecuted.
Security analyst Adnan al-Kinani told Shafaq News that transferring Syrian detainees to Damascus was contingent on US approval, which he said Washington had not yet given.
He added that holding thousands of Syrian and other foreign detainees was placing financial and security pressure on Iraq and urged their countries of origin to take responsibility for them.
US Central Command transferred more than 5,700 adult male ISIS detainees from northeastern Syria to Iraqi custody during a 23-day operation between Jan. 21 and Feb. 12, saying instability around detention facilities risked allowing ISIS members to escape. Iraq’s National Center for International Judicial Cooperation put the total at 5,704 detainees from 61 countries, including 467 Iraqis. Syrians were the largest group, numbering 3,543.
