ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi judicial authorities will bring Islamic State (ISIS) fighters who committed crimes on Iraqi soil to face court justice in the country, foreign minister Mohammed Ali al-Hakim has said in an interview with Dutch newspaper NRC Handeslblad.
Hakim told NRC Iraq will bring ISIS fighters who committed crimes inside Iraq to face proceedings there regardless of their nationality.
“The Iraqi judicial council is ready and committed to bringing all foreigners and Iraqi ISIS fighters who committed crimes inside Iraq and against the Iraqi people to justice,” Hakim said.
However, the Iraqi foreign minister refused the trial of those suspected of fighting for ISIS in Syria – despite requests by some countries to trial their nationals believed to have fought there.
“We are not responsible for the ISIS fighters who committed crimes in Syria,” he said.
International concern has been expressed about trial and detention conditions for ISIS suspects in Iraq, including the use of death penalty sentencing for both Iraqi and foreign nationals convicted of ISIS involvement, the use of violence and torture in prisons, and the overcrowding of Iraqi facilities holding ISIS suspects and their kin.
Despite this knowledge, western European and Scandinavian countries have continued to seek suspect trial in Iraq, citing the danger they could pose if repatriated.
Hakim’s comments come as ISIS face a pivotal moment, following the death of founding leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the announcement of his successor Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.
US President Donald Trump confirmed in a White House statement on Sunday that Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in a US special operations mission in northwest Syria.
In the early hours of Sunday, a US-led operation on a compound reportedly sheltering the ISIS leader in Barisha village, in northwest Syrian province of Idlib ended with Baghdadi committing suicide.
ISIS confirmed Baghdadi’s death and the appointment of a new leader via group affiliated media on Thursday night, warning of even greater violence.
“They should not be happy, as we are coming and they will soon wish that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was alive, as he would have been softer toward them,” new ISIS spokesperson Abu Hamza al-Qurashi said.
Trump has announced on many occasions – including after the killing of Baghdadi - that “ISIS is 100 percent defeated.”
However, Hakim told the NRC war with ISIS is not over and urged continued international efforts to eliminate terrorism in the region.
Though territorially defeated in Iraq in December 2017 and in Syria in March 2019, the group continues to operate in both countries using insurgency tactics. It conducts daily attacks against Iraqi forces, especially in Sunni areas of the country.
The number of ISIS suspects held in Iraq is unknown. However, an August 2019 report by the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights put the number of people held on broader terrorism charges in Iraq at 18,306.
About 12,000 suspected ISIS fighters are currently in SDF detention in northern Syria, including some 2,000 foreigners, many of whom are believed to be Iraqis. About 70,000 family members and supporters are being held in the area’s camps.
Their detention status is now precarious following Trump’s decision to greenlight Turkey’s military operations in northeastern Syria earlier this month.
The diversion of SDF focus to the frontlines has led to fears of prisoner escape and a full-fledged ISIS resurgence.
Fears came to fruition a few days after operation launch when at least 750 ISIS affiliates escaped the SDF-held Ain Issa camp after Turkish shelling close to the camp and detainees rioted. Most have since been recaptured, SDF spokesperson Mustafa Bali told Rudaw.
In what could be an obstacle to Hakim's wishes, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi has insisted suspects detained in northeast Syria will remain there until their fate is decided.
“The fate of Daesh [ISIS] detainees and families is in our hands. We arrested them, they are held by us and we will determine their fate,” Abdi told the SDF-affiliated Ronahi TV earlier this month.
