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Iraq Nixes Syrian Request for Detainees10/09 06:38
Iraq has rejected Syria's request to repatriate thousands of suspected
Islamic State members transferred from Syrian detention centers to Iraqi
custody earlier this year, a senior Iraqi security official said.
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Iraq has rejected Syria's request to repatriate thousands of
suspected Islamic State members transferred from Syrian detention centers to
Iraqi custody earlier this year, a senior Iraqi security official said.
Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Aboudi said Wednesday that a
meeting had been held recently between Syria, Iraq and the United States to
discuss the fate of the prisoners.
Al-Aboudi said Syria had requested that the approximately 4,000 Syrian
prisoners be handed over to be tried in Syria, but Iraq refused. Iraq has
determined that about 400 Syrian detainees were not members of the Islamic
State group and can be released, he told The Associated Press. About 50 have
already been repatriated. Hundreds of the Syrians still detained in Iraq are
believed to be high-ranking members of the extremist group.
"Iraq is conducting investigations, and anyone proved to have committed
crimes in Iraq will be tried under Iraqi law," he said.
Some prisoners could later be transferred to their home countries to
complete their sentences, he said.
Syria did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
More than 5,700 prisoners with alleged IS ties -- including some 4,000
Syrians -- were transferred from northeast Syria to Iraq after fighting broke
out in January between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian
Democratic Forces, which had long guarded the detention centers where they were
held.
Some IS-linked prisoners managed to flee during the chaos of the clashes,
and there were fears that a larger-scale escape would take place. While the
extremist group lost control of the territory it once seized in Iraq and Syria
years ago, its cells still periodically carry out attacks in both countries.
The discussions about the prisoners' fate come as the United States has
ended a 12-year mission to fight IS in Iraq, with the last U.S. troops
withdrawing from the country last month.
Al-Aboudi said Iraq has asked for financial support from the U.S. and other
countries taking part in the global coalition against IS to help with the costs
of housing the prisoners.
"Iraq asked for an allocation of $500 million. The coalition promised
support, but Iraq is still waiting," he said.
A U.S. defense official and the office of Tom Barrack, the U.S. envoy to
Syria and Iraq, referred questions about the prisoners to Iraqi and Syrian
authorities.
Many of the prisoners transferred to Iraq had been held in Syria for years
without charges. Rights groups have raised concerns about detention conditions
in both countries.
Human Rights Watch said in a report this week that "the Iraqi justice system
has a documented history of torture and unlawful executions." It urged Iraqi
authorities to "adhere to international fair trial and detention standards" and
abolish the death penalty.
Al-Aboudi said prisoners from countries that do not enforce capital
punishment would not face the death penalty.
Those from countries with prisoner exchange agreements with Iraq could be
transferred home to complete their sentences after conviction, he said.
Many Western countries, however, have been reluctant to repatriate citizens
accused or convicted of IS ties, as well as women and children believed to be
militants' family members.
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