International law specialist: Keeping ISIS without trial is breach of the law

International law specialist has confirmed the necessity to take steps by the international community to act according the enduring danger posed by ISIS/ Daesh in Syria, and establishment of the international trial for them, confirming the failure to prosecute ISIS so far is a violation of international laws and evasion of moral and legal responsibilities.

30 January, 2022 06:55

AL-HASAKAH, BOTAN HUSSIEN

Many appeals had been addressed by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria AANES and Syrian Democratic Forces, SDF to legal and humanity organizations and international community to try ISIS, after liberating the last pocket of ISIS in March, 2019, but the organizations did not lift a finger.

Enduring threat posed by ISIS still remains, despite eradicating ISIS geographically, in which more 12,000 ISIS detainees are being held in detention centers in AANES’ areas, as well as their families, not to mention the wide spread of their sleeper cells in the area, which launch attacks from time to time, the last of which was on al-Sina’a Prison, the largest attack after the liberation of al-Baghouz from ISIS.

International law jurist and specialist Masood Ali has pointed out that individuals who have joined "terrorist" organizations should be tried in accordance with international laws and courts, especially since all members of terrorist organizations have committed crimes against humanity and collective crimes.

Masood Ali explained that the Syrian Democratic Forces cannot prosecute ISIS mercenaries, for several reasons: "First, there are no international courts, there are no internationally recognized domestic courts.

Referring to the need to set up international courts to deal with international cases, Ali said: "Al-Qaeda has been prosecuted for crimes committed in Afghanistan by an international tribunal in Guantánamo, as well as for an international investigation into the assassination of Rafik Hariri in Lebanon on Lebanese soil."

He went on to say that in accordance with due process, ISIS mercenaries must be tried and investigated within 24 hours after their surrender to the Syrian Democratic Forces, because they were perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity. "These crimes do not even require investigations as they are documented by photographs and videos by the organizations concerned."

Noting that keeping ISIS mercenaries without trial so far is a breach of international law, evading moral and legal obligations, Ali said: "Despite repeated calls by the Syrian Democratic Forces to the international community to prosecute ISIS, especially since ISIS terrorism is not at the level of an individual, a state, or a territory, but rather constitutes a threat to all countries of the world, but did not lift a finger.”

According to Ali, the penalty for any element that joins a terrorist organization, whatever its action, is punishable by death. In most States, there is no death sentence, but a maximum sentence of life: "ISIS mercenaries have different nationalities and there is no comprehensive law defining the punishment mechanism, which may delay or create a problem in the conduct of an international court."

International law specialist Masood Ali proposed that the ISIS mercenaries' court be located on the territory of north-eastern Syria. "The elements of ISIS are constantly making insurgency in prison, and the task of transporting them from one place or court to another without harm is tired and dangerous."

T/S

ANHA