“The Final Charge”: From U.S.-Funded Prisons to Iraqi Terrorism Courts, Syrians Face Possible Death Sentences
A SIRAJ investigation reveals that the transfer of thousands of detainees from Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) prisons to Iraq included Syrians held on widely varying grounds and under markedly different case files—including individuals whose original detention records made no reference to ISIS.
The transfers, overseen by the United States after years of American funding for the detention system, were carried out without independent, individualized judicial review of detainees’ files. Those transferred now face proceedings before Iraqi courts on terrorism charges that can carry the death penalty.