Iraq hands over Finnish, American suspects cleared of ISIS ties

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said Tuesday that authorities have handed over two suspects of Finnish and American nationalities to their home countries after determining they were not affiliated with the Islamic State group.

In a statement, the council said the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation “announced the handover of two suspects, a juvenile from Finland and another from the U.S., “to the competent authorities in their countries, after it was proven that they do not belong to ISIS terrorist gangs.”

The center said “the handover process took place after the completion of all legal and judicial procedures, and within the framework of coordination and international judicial cooperation with the competent authorities, as part of Iraq’s ongoing efforts to manage the file of detainees linked to terrorism cases.”

It added that authorities will ensure “continued coordination and cooperation with international judicial bodies, in a way that contributes to achieving justice and strengthening efforts aimed at combating terrorism and preventing those involved from escaping accountability.”

Iraq previously received 5,704 suspects accused of belonging to the Islamic State group from prisons in northeast Syria in coordination with coalition forces.

On April 2, the Ministry of Justice said Islamic State suspects are being held at Karkh Central Prison under layered security provided by Counter-Terrorism Service forces and Corrections Department personnel, with no transfers planned at that stage. Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Laibi said 1,000 of the more than 5,700 detainees transferred from Syria had been questioned, with no court rulings issued against any of them, and noted that detainees represent more than 60 nationalities.