Thousands of ISIS members have been arrested during Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operations. On March 21, 2019 the gangs were completely cleared from the Baghouz town. Afterwards, calls were made for their trial in an international court.

The Northern and Eastern Syrian Autonomous Administration announced a total of 6,000 arrestees from 50 countries, mostly from Europe and Asia.

There have been many initiatives to date, but there hasn’t been a positive step from the international community to kickstart the trial processes.

The committee formed by the Northern and Eastern Syria Social Justice General Assembly is made up of 7 lawyers.

Committee member Lawyer Mehmud Xelo said it is imperative for ISIS members to face trial under international law due to the nature of their crimes: “After ISIS was defeated, we started to work for their trial. These efforts continue. There are thousands of gang members in prisons, and they must face trial. These people have committed grave crimes against humanity.”

Xelo said: “When the court is established, there will be several obstacles in terms of the laws. So it must be established in accordance with UN bylaws. And for that, the Autonomous Administration must be engaged with.”

Xelo continued: “There have been several efforts for the establishment of a court. We could found a joint court with the International Coalition. They must support us for that. For instance, what if we sentence a Russian-national gang member to 10 years in prison, and in 10 years this country accepts them into their country? That is an issue. That is why we called on countries to repatriate their citizens.”

Xelo said the committee has met with several states for the trials, and that there haven’t been any positive steps taken even though the meetings were themselves positive.

Lawyer Mehmud Xelo said the delay in the trials poses another threat against the region: “The gangs continue to be a threat for the region. This threat is in fact against the whole world. There are thousands of gang members in the Autonomous Administration’s prisons right now. In case of chaos or conflict in the region, these will pose a serious threat.”