Iraq’s top court says prison security ‘sufficient’ to hold ISIS detainees

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said Tuesday that security measures for prisons holding Islamic State detainees transferred from Syria are sufficient to prevent any breach, following a high-level meeting of senior judicial and security officials.

The meeting, chaired by Supreme Judicial Council President Judge Faiq Zaidan and attended by Interior Minister Abdul Amir al-Shammari, Justice Minister Khaled Shwani and National Security Adviser Qasim al-Araji, reviewed security procedures and fortifications for the designated facilities. The council called on media to “exercise accuracy in presenting information regarding the issue of prisoners transferred from detention centers in Syria, and not to rely on analysis far removed from reality.”

Iraq is currently holding more than 5,700 detainees transferred from Syria representing more than 60 nationalities, according to the Justice Ministry. Shwani has said Iraqi law applies to all Islamic State members regardless of nationality and that courts may issue death sentences under domestic legislation.

“If a state is keen that this terrorist not be tried under Iraqi rulings, we are ready to sign memoranda of understanding to return these elements to their original countries, and the United States supports us in this context,” Shwani said.

The meeting comes amid heightened concern over prison security following recent strikes near Baghdad International Airport and Karkh Central Prison, and an earlier incident in which Iraqi air defenses shot down a drone approaching Abu Ghraib prison — the site of a major jailbreak roughly a decade ago.