Men accused of Islamic State links await questioning at Al-Karkh prison in Iraq following their transfer from northeast Syria, February 12, 2026.
Nearly 5,700 men and boys held as alleged Islamic State (ISIS) members and transferred to Iraq in early 2026 are at risk of abuse including imminent prosecution for adults in unfair trials, followed by execution.Dozens of countries are stalling on repatriating and providing aid to their nationals detained in Iraq amid allegations of torture, as well as grave illnesses and several deaths in custody.Governments should stop outsourcing responsibility for their nationals and ensure they are afforded their full rights to humane treatment, whether abroad or at home.
(Beirut) – Nearly 5,700 men and boys held as alleged Islamic State (ISIS) members and transferred to Iraq in early 2026 are at risk of abuse including imminent prosecution for adults in unfair trials, followed by execution, Human Rights Watch said today. Dozens of countries are stalling on repatriating and providing aid to their detained nationals amid torture allegations, grave illnesses, and several deaths in custody.
The detainees, about 3,500 from Syria and 2,200 from Iraq and 65 other countries, were already held in life-threatening conditions for up to seven-and-a-half years in northeast Syria. None of the foreigners were prosecuted or charged, making their prolonged detention in Syria arbitrary and unlawful. The US military abruptly transferred them to Iraq between January 21 and February 12, 2026.
“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,” said Letta Tayler, senior counterterrorism advisor at Human Rights Watch. “The international community shouldn’t leave Iraq to manage this immense responsibility on its own.”
Human Rights Watch
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