Syria: Thousands of alleged IS members could face trial in northeast

Thousands of alleged Islamic State (IS) group members could be headed for trial by authorities in northeastern Syria, amid concerns over fairness and legal scope.

The suspects have been held by the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), also known as Rojava, for years, The New Arab's Arabic sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, reported.

AANES Foreign Relations Department spokesperson Kamal Akef said in a Monday statement that his administration is in the process of conducting trials for some alleged IS members held in its prisons.

He did not provide any details about what would happen to the detainees after their trials or once their sentences are completed – should they be convicted.

Ghazwan Kronfol, leader of the Free Syrian Lawyers group, said: "In principle, all the courts in areas outside [the Syrian] regime's control are de facto authorities and, therefore, the effect of these rulings is within the areas of influence and control of these authorities.

"They have no value in the legal sense outside of this scope."

Syrian Network for Human Rights director Fadel Abdul Ghany criticised the planned trials' fairness.

"The trials that the [Syrian Democratic Forces] intends to conduct lack the minimum standards for fair trials," he said, referring to the AANES's military branch.

Al-Araby Al-Jadeed asked officials whether the trials were part of SDF attempts to close the door on the issue of its detainees, but received no response.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said elite Kurdish forces had moved armoured vehicles inside the main prison yard, ahead of a possible attempt to storm the facility. 👇https://t.co/h2XJomtGoG

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) January 24, 2022

The SDF is holding thousands of alleged IS fighters, as well as an unknown number accused of collaborating with the extremist group during its control of around half of Syria's territory in 2014 and 2015.  Also held are the family members of alleged IS fighters.

The issue of alleged IS detainees rose to the surface in the AANES in early 2022 when militants attempted to free detainees from a prison in Hassakeh city.

While IS's attempt largely failed, sources in the city said that some detainees were able to escape.

The SDF has previously urged that alleged foreign extremists and their families be taken back to their home states.