Turkey weighs repatriation of 2,000 IS suspects for trial at home

Turkey is seeking to repatriate nationals jailed in northern Syria on suspicion of Islamic State (IS) links to prosecute them in its own courts, local news outlet Kisa Dalga reported.

According to the report, Ankara is currently in talks with Baghdad and Washington to arrange the transfer of over 2,000 prisoners and agree that all convicted IS prisoners from all nationalities should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity and genocide.

On 21 January, the US announced the transfer of IS prisoners to Iraq, saying that the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)'s role in confronting IS had come to an end.

Washington had been supporting the SDF that controlled much of the detention facilities that keep IS suspects in northeastern Syria. According to a deal with the new Syrian government, the SDF will merge into the national army.

Iraq says it’s willing to host the foreign prisoners only temporarily, and calls for all concerned countries to repatriate their citizens as soon as possible.

Iraq previously said it will prosecute and try the IS prisoners who are transferred from Syria. The country's Supreme Judicial Council is expected to launch an investigation to compile crime records collected from conflict zones, archived documents, including visual material, and evidence of genocide.

Turkey and the US are also expected to provide information and documentary support to the investigation, according to Kisa Dalga.

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The report said that international treaties and court rulings based on such evidence would be taken into account in determining the procedures and legal framework for the trials in Turkey.

Among those Turkey seeks to repatriate is Ilyas Aydin, known by the codename Abu Ubayda, the Istanbul chief of IS, the report said.

Aydin is a fugitive suspect in the trial over a bomb attack that killed 109 people in Ankara on 10 October 2015, and is sought under an Interpol red notice.

At least 15 other key suspects of the case are likely to be scattered in detention centres in northern Syria.

However, sorting out the citizenships of the prisoners remains a hurdle ahead of the repatriation process, according to the report. Some of those detained by the SDF forces reportedly did not declare their citizenship and were missing documents. 

Some of them are also likely to have been ordered to provide false information, especially if they’re fluent in other languages.

The authorities have reportedly collected the fingerprints and statements of those claiming to be Turkish citizens.