Jan 22 (Reuters) – Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said on Thursday it would begin legal proceedings against Islamic State detainees transferred from Syria after the rapid collapse of Kurdish-led forces in northeast Syria triggered concerns over prison security.
The U.S. military said on Tuesday its forces had transferred 150 Islamic State detainees from Syria to Iraq and that the operation could eventually see up to 7,000 detainees moved out of Syria. It cited concerns over prison security after the military setbacks suffered by the Syrian Democratic Forces.
An Iraqi military spokesperson confirmed that Iraq had received a first batch of 150 Islamic State detainees, including Iraqis and foreigners and said the number of future transfers would depend on security and field assessments. The spokesperson described the detainees as senior figures within the group.
In a statement, the Supreme Judicial Council said Iraqi courts would take “due legal measures” against the detainees once they are handed over and placed in specialised correctional facilities, citing the Iraqi constitution and criminal laws.
“All suspects, regardless of their nationalities or positions within the terrorist organisation, are subject exclusively to the authority of the Iraqi judiciary,” the statement said.
Iraqi officials say under the legal measures, Islamic State detainees will be separated, with senior figures — including foreign nationals — to be held at a high‑security detention facility near Baghdad airport that was previously used by U.S. forces.
The SDF has previously said it was guarding some 10,000 IS fighters, while thousands of women and children linked to the group remain confined in camps.
RELATIVES OF SOME DETAINEES WORRIED ABOUT THEIR FATE
The transfers have raised concerns among some relatives of Islamic State detainees in Europe. A European woman whose relative joined the group and was detained in Syria said her family was alarmed by reports that prisoners were being moved to Iraq.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, she said the family initially hoped changes in control in Syria might bring information on her relative’s fate.
“At least we thought we might finally learn where he is, whether he is alive or sick,” she said.
“But when we saw that the prisoners were being taken to Iraq, that frightened us,” she added, citing Iraq’s use of the death penalty.
Iraqi officials say the country’s courts are responsible for ensuring due process.
(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad and Maya Gebeily in Beirut;Editing by Alison Williams and Gareth Jones)
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