Kurdish officials want Canada to help set up tribunal to try Islamic State suspects

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Authorities in northeast Syria who are holding Canadians suspected of being part of the Islamic State in prisons say they want Canada’s help setting up a special tribunal and trying men in the region, as debate takes hold in Canada on whether the government should bring the Canadian suspects home.

The Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) prefers to try all suspected male fighters, as well as women who are alleged to have committed crimes, in northeast Syria because that’s where the alleged offences occurred and they have enough evidence to try them, said Abdulkarim Omar, AANES representative to Europe.

Their proposal, he said, is for the creation of a court in co-operation with the governments of countries that have their citizens in AANES’ prisons and camps. “We want the international community, including Canada, to help us set up the court to try Daesh fighters in our regions,” he said, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym.

In 2019, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces detained thousands of people from more than 60 countries who were living among Islamic State terrorists when the group’s final holdout crumbled. Foreigners, including Canadians, were taken to camps and prisons across northeastern Syria.

Last month, the federal government agreed to repatriate six Canadian women and 13 children who spent years detained in these camps. Then, a federal court justice ruled the government had to also repatriate four Canadian men being held in prisons there.

Ottawa appeals court ruling directing government to help repatriate four men in Syria

The government appealed that decision last Friday saying that in its view, the court made errors of law and fact. Global Affairs Canada said in a statement on Friday that the government is “resolute in its vigilance with regard to the safety and security of Canadians and remains committed to taking a robust approach to this issue.”

But according to Peter Galbraith, a former U.S. ambassador and dual Canadian-U. S. citizen who has helped with the repatriation of two Canadians, it is not entirely up to Canada to decide.

“We kind of forget that other people have a say in these things too – and for sure, it’s up to the Kurds. This is where the crimes were committed, they were the victims. This is a big issue for them,” he said.

Mr. Galbraith said he has been to the prisons – and the conditions are terrible – but so are the conditions of the population that IS victimized.

“Justice is not just something for the perpetrators, it’s for their victims,” he said, adding that the alleged crimes of IS were committed in Syria or Iraq, and so those are the places appropriate to try the crimes. “All of the victims are there, the witnesses are there.” He said that AANES has for years asked for a special tribunal, either international or a hybrid format.

On the issue of repatriating foreigners from the camps, Mr. Omar said AANES has always co-operated with governments, including Canada’s. He described the camps as a “time-ticking bomb” that can explode at any minute, saying the international community needs to help find a solution.

He said AANES is continuing to face serious challenges regarding foreign nationals in its camps and prisons, saying the suspected male foreign fighters “pose a serious threat to the region and the whole world.”

He said the fight against IS terrorism has exacted a brutal toll. On top of the lives lost, people have been left permanently disabled from their injuries and there are thousands of orphans.

“We want justice for the victims. Therefore, we call upon the international community to help the AANES to set up the court to try Daesh members in northeast Syria,” he said.

“The international community is not doing much these days because of its preoccupation with the Russia-Ukraine war. Furthermore, fighting Daesh should not be limited to the military aspect, but it must include socio-economic and political support for the AANES and its military forces, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).”

Global Affairs Canada did not respond to a request to comment.

Mark Kersten, an assistant professor at the University of the Fraser Valley and a consultant at the Wayamo Foundation, a non-profit that works to strengthen the rule of law and promote justice for international and transnational crimes, said that while the Kurdish authorities have been calling for a court to try IS suspects, there has not been a political consensus on how a tribunal singularly focused on IS would work – particularly because people would ask about how this would address the alleged atrocities committed by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Prof. Kersten said in principle the “golden rule is that you want to prosecute people as close to victims and survivors and where the atrocity happened as possible.” However, he said he also sees value in Canada prosecuting Canadians who are alleged to have chosen to fight for a terrorist organization to send a message to Canadians that there are consequences.