People’s Defense Courts will try ISIS criminals

The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) is in the process of preparing the trials of ISIS members. AANES stated in its announcement that ISIS members will be fairly tried in accordance with international and local laws. In an interview with Emrullah Acar of the Mezopotamya Agency, Ciwan Mele Ibrahim, co-chairperson of the Communications Department of Northern and Eastern Syria, said that they decided to try more than ten thousand ISIS members in public in the People’s Defense Courts and explained the trial process.

Dozens of calls to states to repatriate more than 10.000 ISIS members, who are citizens of 60 different countries, have gone unanswered, Ibrahim said. AANES has asked the international community to try its citizens in their own countries, suggesting an international tribunal as an alternative, but received no response. In the interview with MA, Ibrahim pointed out that when delegations from the international community visited northeastern Syria, they also visited the families of ISIS members and repatriated some of them, but no lasting solution was achieved.

A global terror

Comparing ISIS prisoners and their families held in camps to “ticking time bombs”, Ibrahim stressed that they are a threat to the whole world. He added that they will cause great destruction when they explode, giving the example of what happened in the al-Sina prison on 20 January 2022. He was referring to a large-scale attack and prison riot by ISIS in the city of Hasakah to free ISIS members held in al-Sina prison. ISIS and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) clashed for over a week, killing 346 ISIS criminals and 154 SDF fighters. A total of 400 prisoners were reported missing in the clashes. Recalling that tens of thousands of fighters have lost their lives in the fierce struggle against ISIS, Ibrahim called the ISIS gangs “world terror”. “These gangs have been held in prison for years without trial. There must be a solution to this situation, which is also against international law,” he emphasized.

Trial process

Ibrahim said that some amendments were made in the laws regarding “terrorism” in the last year, adding that ISIS members will be tried under the umbrella of the People’s Defense Court and the Social Justice Council. He explained that the trials will be conducted on the basis of the crimes committed and the documents obtained. The relevant international legislation will also be taken into account. Announcing that the trials will begin in a few days, Ibrahim said in the interview: “The trials will be open to the public. The families of those who lost their lives in ISIS attacks will also attend the trials. We will send invitations to all international legal organizations. Invitations will also be sent to the states of which the ISIS members on trial are citizens. These trials will be transparent.”

Undeniable collaboration between Turkey and ISIS

Noting that international powers agree with AANES’ decision but have not taken any steps, Ibrahim also addressed the collaboration between the Turkish state and ISIS: “80 percent of the ISIS fighters who came to northeastern Syria came through the Turkish border. This is documented and obvious. No one can hide this. That is why states that have their own interests at stake do not want these cases to be opened. Turkey has openly supported ISIS militants in many attacks. Since Turkey is a NATO member, the international community is based on its interests with Turkey. No one is making any effort to rid the world of ISIS.”

No time to lose

Ibrahim concludes the interview by saying that the people of northern and eastern Syria also want this issue to be resolved. Expressing the need of the families who lost their children in the fight against ISIS to live in peace, the co-chair continued: “All our forces have done their duty. The geographical elimination of ISIS was the first step and it was a success. Now we need a second step. This step is to put ISIS members on trial and remove them from a position that will cause security problems. Not only the ISIS members in prison, but also their families cause security problems in the camps. If this problem is not solved, the world will never breathe a sigh of relief. We have no time to lose. We are ready to solve this problem.”