Detainees transferred from camps in Syria face arrest and ‘routine’ torture 

Torture includes severe beatings, electric shocks, stress positions and being forcibly submerged under water 

‘I didn’t recognise him ... His teeth were broken, and he couldn’t hear. He still can’t hear properly. His ribs were broken ...’ - wife of Mostafa*

Detainees held in an Iraqi “rehabilitation” centre holding people suspected of affiliation to the ISIS armed group are being routinely subjected to torture and enforced disappearance, said Amnesty International in a new investigation today.

Since 2021, an estimated 9,500 people have been returned to Iraq from Al-Hol detention camp in north-east Syria, where tens of thousands are being arbitrarily detained because of their alleged links to ISIS. Many of these Iraqis have been transferred to Al-Jed’ah Centre. The Iraqi authorities are considering scaling up the return of Iraqis in Al-Hol – estimated at more than 18,000 – so that the vast majority are transferred by the end of 2027.

Amnesty has documented the cases of eight people - seven men and a woman - held in Al-Jed’ah Centre (also known as Jed’ah 1 Camp) in 2023 and 2024, with seven of the eight suffering torture and other ill-treatment. 

Interviewees told Amnesty that the torture included severe beatings, electric shocks, being forced into stress positions and being forcibly submerged under water or having their heads covered with plastic bags. Family members said they observed obvious effects of torture on their relatives, such as broken fingers and dislocated shoulders. 

Seven of the eight cases documented involved detailed accounts of torture and other ill-treatment used during interrogations by the Iraqi security forces. Six of those interviewed are now serving lengthy prison sentences based on their torture-tainted confessions. These patterns of violations are similar to those faced by Iraqi men transferred from prisons in north-east Syria to the Iraqi authorities which Amnesty documented in a major report earlier this year.

Saleem*, who was arrested along with his son Abdullah* in 2023, said that they both suffered torture during their interrogations. He told Amnesty: 

“They beat me, and ... handcuffed my hands behind my back. They hit the soles of my feet with a green water pipe ... I was just saying ‘no’, again and again ... During the torture, they said they wanted me to confess to things I didn’t do. I didn’t confess, and so I didn’t walk for four days.” 

Saleem said he saw Abdullah in their shared prison cell after his interrogation:

“They hanged my son for four hours ... He faced ta’liq [beating while suspended from a metal bar], beating on his feet, cursing, and insults to his dignity ... Almost every person arrested will face torture ... It’s just the routine.”

Maryam*, arrested in Al-Jed’ah Centre earlier this year, told Amnesty she was subjected to electric shocks, kicks, beating with a stick and sexual harassment during her interrogation. She was also forced to witness the torture of other detainees. She said: 

“[The investigator] was... cursing me and saying things about my body. Some words [he said] I can’t say, I can’t even have them in my mouth ... They kept saying that I should say I was with ISIS.” 

Mostafa*, arrested earlier this year, was visited by his wife soon after his interrogation. She told Amnesty:

“I didn’t recognise him ... His teeth were broken, and he couldn’t hear. He still can’t hear properly. His ribs were broken ... We could see how badly he was tortured.”

While some arrests in Al-Jed’ah Centre may have been made on legitimate grounds, in some cases people have been accused of involvement with ISIS if one of their relatives joined the group. Fatima’s* son Haider*, aged 14 when he reached Al-Hol camp, was arrested in Al-Jed’ah Centre. She told Amnesty:

“There was someone from [our village] who said everyone in our family was terrorists, the father and the sons ... He [Haider] had no connection to terrorism. He was just a kid.” 

As of last month, Al-Jed’ah held 2,223 people, including 1,318 children, 627 women and 278 men. The centre is run by the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Displacement, with the support of other Iraqi ministries, the UN - including the IOM, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNFPA, WHO and WFP - and international and local NGOs. Since 2021, the Iraqi security forces have carried out around 80 arrests of people in Al-Jed’ah Centre on charges of ISIS affiliation. Arrests are made by the Iraqi security forces, including the army, police and the intelligence forces. According to the president of the Ninewa Court of Appeal, those arrested in Al-Jed’ah are usually interrogated in Faisaliya Prison in Mosul or in Baghdad, and then usually tried in the Ninewa Counterterrorism Court in Mosul. 

In July, Amnesty was refused access to visit or to conduct interviews in Al-Jed’ah Centre, with the Iraqi authorities citing “security concerns”. On 2 October, Amnesty wrote to the Iraqi prime minister detailing the findings of its investigation - no response had been received by the time of publication.

Amnesty is calling on the Iraqi authorities to immediately end the use of torture and the enforced disappearance of those arrested in Al-Jed’ah Centre, and to conduct re-trials that meet international fair trial standards for those convicted on the basis of torture-tainted confessions. The UN should conduct further investigations into the treatment of those arrested in Al-Jed’ah and cease cooperation with the Iraqi authorities when such cooperation is complicit in human rights violations. 

Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: 

“The torture and other ill-treatment suffered by those arrested in Al-Jed’ah Centre is horrifying. It must be stopped and investigated immediately.

“The Iraqi authorities and UN have agreed that tens of thousands of Iraqis will be returned to Al-Jed’ah Centre from Al-Hol detention camp in north-east Syria in the years ahead.

“It’s unconscionable that after escaping a decade of war and detention, Iraqis return only to face further horrors. 

“Before these practices affect the thousands of people due to be returned to Al-Jed’ah Centre, the Iraqi authorities must take urgent steps to end the use of torture and other ill-treatment.”

Enforced disappearance and inhumane prison conditions

In six of the eight cases documented by Amnesty, those arrested in Al-Jed’ah Centre appeared to have been forcibly disappeared for between 14 days and three months. Family members often only learned of their relative’s fate through other detainees who were released. Amnesty has previously documented a pattern of the security forces arresting Iraqis in camps for internally-displaced people and subjecting them to enforced disappearance.

In all eight cases documented by Amnesty, the person was charged under Iraq’s deeply-flawed 2005 Anti-Terrorism Law. Two were released after their investigation and trial. The remaining six were convicted, with five sentenced to life in prison (20 years) and one to 15 years. The six are serving their sentences in either Nasiriyah Central Prison or Babel Central Prison. 

According to family members, the conditions in which they are held - particularly in Nasiriyah - are inhumane, with detainees deprived of access to adequate food, water, sanitation and healthcare. Amnesty has previously received reports of mistreatment by prison guards at Nasiriyah, including routine verbal and physical abuse. All family members described how costly it is to provide their detained relatives with food, clothing and medication. The father of Abdullah, currently held in Babel, said: 

“We send him medicine, 300-350,000 dinars a month [approximately £200] ... There is so much money spent to visit them, to bring them food and clothes.” 

Many family members said they have been left in a desperate situation as those arrested were often the sole wage earners for the family. The wife of Mostafa, who is serving a 20-year sentence in Babel, told Amnesty:

“We are really broken now. One of the children is working in a car parking lot, giving receipts ... The other is working in an ice cream and juice shop. They are the ones supporting the family ... We are just begging for help from whoever we meet ... We can’t even afford the rent.” 

Note: *names have been changed.