Iraq judiciary reviews cases of foreign detainees from Syria -ANHA

The Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council hosted a meeting today to develop a unified approach to the cases of foreign detainees and convicts transferred from Syria to Iraq, as their cases move to the trial stage following the completion of investigations and interrogations.

The Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported that the meeting was chaired by Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zidan and attended by Justice Minister Khalid Shwani and a number of security and judicial officials, including Director of the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Abdul Amir al-Shammari, National Intelligence Service chief Hamid al-Shatri, National Security Service chief Basim al-Badri, National Security Adviser Qasim al-Aboodi, and Counter-Terrorism Service chief Zaid Hawshi.

The agency added that the meeting discussed mechanisms for handling the foreigners’ cases and reached a unified position to address each case separately based on bilateral agreements between Iraq and the countries of which the detainees and convicts are nationals, in addition to applying Iraqi laws and the principle of reciprocity.

The participants also agreed that the National Center for International Judicial Cooperation would review any initiatives or offers from the countries concerned or international organizations to provide assistance or support to Iraq in connection with the case.

According to INA, the meeting came after the First Karkh Investigative Court completed the investigation and interrogation phase for the detainees and convicts and moved on to the trial stage.