Thousands transferred from Syria to Iraq face possible execution over alleged IS links, HRW says

Thousands transferred from Syria to Iraq face possible execution over alleged IS links, HRW says

Submitted by Alex MacDonald on Mon, 10/05/2026 - 13:16 Dozens of countries have stalled repatriating their nationals as Baghdad prepares to prosecute alleged Islamic State members under its counterterrorism law An Iraqi police patrol transports Iraqi detainees into the grounds of the Karkh Courthouse in Baghdad on 5 October 2026 (Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP) Off

Thousands of men and boys suspected of links to the Islamic State (IS) group are at risk of abuse and unfair prosecution in Iraq, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned.

According to the group, nearly 5,700 men and boys from a range of countries are at risk of abuse, including imminent prosecution of adults in unfair trials, followed by the death penalty.

There have also been reports of widespread torture, unsanitary conditions and deaths in custody.

The detainees - about 3,500 from Syria and 2,200 from Iraq and 65 other countries -  had already been held in life-threatening conditions for up to seven-and-a-half years in northeast Syria before being transferred to Iraq, between 21 January and 12 February 2026. 

Letta Tayler, senior counterterrorism advisor at HRW, said in a statement: “The thousands of boys and men sent to Iraq deserve humane treatment and due process, just as the thousands of survivors of ISIS crimes deserve genuine justice." 

“The international community shouldn’t leave Iraq to manage this immense responsibility on its own.”

HRW said that foreign countries needed to take responsibility for their citizens and repatriate them.

Fair trial concerns

IS swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, capturing large swathes of both countries.

Backed by US-led forces, Iraq declared victory over IS's territorial presence in 2017, while the group lost its last territorial stronghold in Syria in 2019.

As the US pulls its forces out of Iraq, what happens to Iran-backed armed groups? Read More »

IS prisoners were held in prisons operated by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) until January 2026, when fighting between the SDF and the transitional government in Damascus raised fears of possible jailbreaks.

US military forces airlifted and bussed 5,704 prisoners to neighbouring Iraq, giving Baghdad only a few days' notice.

Over 1,100 adults arrived with serious diseases including tuberculosis, which is highly contagious and can spread through a population rapidly.

More than 440 of those transferred are children, including one 12-year-old.

Rights groups have criticised the Iraqi legal system, which has handed down hundreds of sentences of death and life imprisonment to people convicted of terrorism offences, including hundreds of foreigners, often after unfair trials.

Last week, authorities executed 10 people after they were convicted on "terrorism" charges under Iraq's Article 4 of the anti-terrorism law, security and health officials told AFP. 

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