IS prisoners in northern Syria

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) has criticized the German Federal Government for failing to support investigative authorities and lawyers in attempts to bring light to crimes committed by the so-called Islamic State (IS): “It is not uncommon for German investigative authorities or individual lawyers to ask us for support in establishing contacts with the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria,” stated Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East Consultant. “They are in urgent need of statements from IS members who are being kept detained in northern Syria. This is also important for court proceedings in Germany. However, the German Foreign Office is blocking all contacts with the authorities in northern and eastern Syria – out of consideration for NATO partner Turkey. This is another reason why the investigations and the legal processing of the crimes are making little progress.”

Around 11,000 IS fighters and 55,000 further IS supporters, women, and children from all over the world – including Germany – are being kept detained by the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria (AANES). German authorities are investigating against individual IS members in Germany for human rights violations, war crimes, or genocide, and there are lawyers who are representing suspected IS members in court. “AANES has repeatedly appealed to Germany and other states to repatriate their citizens, and, if they have committed war crimes, to bring them before proper courts,” Sido explained. “Also, the tens of thousands of women and children cannot stay in these camps forever. There should be bilateral talks and intensive cooperation between the authorities in Germany and AANES. The German Foreign Office must end its blockade policy, because the Federal Republic of Germany is responsible for its citizens, whether this is convenient or not.”

Because the Foreign Office is trying to keep NATO partner Turkey happy, not even the expert committees of the German Bundestag are able to take of German prisoners in Syria. “AANES is led by Kurds. The Foreign Ministry is afraid of talks, because the Kurdish people are known to be critics of Turkish ruler Erdogan,” Sido said. “Erdogan is attacking the Kurds almost on a daily basis, and the Kurds see this as support for IS. The Turkish attacks have frequently resulted in IS prisoners trying to break free.” If Germany and other NATO countries are not willing to take back their IS members, the situation in northern Syria might turn into a second Guantanamo – with thousands of people who are kept detained for years without a trial. To prevent this, AANES is now preparing its own court cases against IS members. In this regard, AANES is dependent on help and support from the West as well. According to Sido, this would be the only way to ensure a minimum rule of law. Fair and just trials are also necessary for the victims of the genocide against the Yezidis and other ethnic groups.