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Inmate Released from Kurdish Prison: ISIS Used Us as Human Shields

Syrians were released from the Hassakah prison as part of an amnesty deal. Asharq Al-Awsat
Syrians were released from the Hassakah prison as part of an amnesty deal. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Inmate Released from Kurdish Prison: ISIS Used Us as Human Shields

Syrians were released from the Hassakah prison as part of an amnesty deal. Asharq Al-Awsat
Syrians were released from the Hassakah prison as part of an amnesty deal. Asharq Al-Awsat

A Syrian man released this week from the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration prisons in northeast Syria admitted that ISIS forced him to collaborate with the organization, saying he was unable to escape from areas controlled by the group.

“I was placed in prison for being an ISIS fighter. However, I was a civilian employee working with the organization. They forced us to leave with their fighters every time they lost new territory, the last time in the Baghouz area,” Khodr, 23, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday.

After spending 19 months in prison, the young Syrian who is from the village of Shaddadi, south of Hassakah, was released as part of an amnesty deal issued by the Autonomous Administration last Saturday for a number of ISIS militants from prisons in northern Syria.

“ISIS used us as human shields and they prevented us from escaping,” Khodr, 23, said.

Amid tight security measures, hundreds of prisoners were seen Friday leaving the Sanaah Prison in the city of Hassakah. Some were carrying small handbags and others were walking on crutches.

Family members waited to welcome them.

Hussein, from the town of Bassira in the countryside of eastern Deir Ezzor, was waiting with the crowd for the release of his brother.

“After the Baghouz battle ended, my brother was arrested. He has been in prison for one year and a half on charges of ties to the ISIS organization,” he said.

On Thursday, the Syrian Democratic Council announced the release of 631 prisoners charged of committing terrorist acts out of the 12,000 Syrian suspects who are accused of collaborating with ISIS.

Amina Omar, co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Party (SDC), said that the Council released Syrians who collaborated with ISIS but had not committed criminal acts.

Around 253 others would also benefit from the amnesty and would be released once they complete half of their sentences.

Hamdan, from the villages of Jabal Abdulaziz in western Hassakah, was waiting in front of the prison to welcome his son.

“My son and dozens of others were put in jail for membership to ISIS based on false reports. As a result, he unjustly remained in prison for one year,” he said.

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Arab World

How Did Iraq Survive ‘Existential Threat More Dangerous than ISIS’?

Iraqi sheikhs participate in a solidarity demonstration with Iran on a road leading to the Green Zone, where the US Embassy is located in Baghdad (AP). 
Iraqi sheikhs participate in a solidarity demonstration with Iran on a road leading to the Green Zone, where the US Embassy is located in Baghdad (AP). 
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How Did Iraq Survive ‘Existential Threat More Dangerous than ISIS’?

Iraqi sheikhs participate in a solidarity demonstration with Iran on a road leading to the Green Zone, where the US Embassy is located in Baghdad (AP). 
Iraqi sheikhs participate in a solidarity demonstration with Iran on a road leading to the Green Zone, where the US Embassy is located in Baghdad (AP). 

Diplomatic sources in Baghdad revealed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Iraqi authorities were deeply concerned about sliding into the Israeli-Iranian war, which they considered “an existential threat to Iraq even more dangerous than that posed by ISIS when it overran a third of the country’s territory.”

The sources explained that “ISIS was a foreign body that inevitably had to be expelled by the Iraqi entity, especially given the international and regional support Baghdad enjoyed in confronting it... but the war (with Israel) threatened Iraq’s unity.”

They described this “existential threat” as follows:

-When the war broke out, Baghdad received messages from Israel, conveyed via Azerbaijan and other channels, stating that Israel would carry out “harsh and painful” strikes in response to any attacks launched against it from Iraqi territory. The messages held the Iraqi authorities responsible for any such attacks originating from their soil.

-Washington shifted from the language of prior advice to direct warnings, highlighting the grave consequences that could result from any attacks carried out by Iran-aligned factions.

-Iraqi authorities feared what they described as a “disaster scenario”: that Iraqi factions would launch attacks on Israel, prompting Israel to retaliate with a wave of assassinations similar to those it conducted against Hezbollah leaders in Lebanon or Iranian generals and scientists at the start of the war.

-The sources noted that delivering painful blows to these factions would inevitably inflame the Shiite street, potentially pushing the religious authority to take a strong stance. At that point, the crisis could take on the character of a Shiite confrontation with Israel.

-This scenario raised fears that other Iraqi components would then blame the Shiite component for dragging Iraq into a war that could have been avoided. In such circumstances, the divergence in choices between the Shiite and Sunni communities could resurface, reviving the threat to Iraq’s unity.

-Another risk was the possibility that the Kurds would declare that the Iraqi government was acting as if it only represented one component, and that the country was exhausted by wars, prompting the Kurdish region to prefer distancing itself from Baghdad to avoid being drawn into unwanted conflicts.

-Mohammed Shia Al Sudani’s government acted with a mix of firmness and prudence. It informed the factions it would not tolerate any attempt to drag the country into a conflict threatening its unity, while on the other hand keeping its channels open with regional and international powers, especially the US.

-Iraqi authorities also benefited from the position of Iranian authorities, who did not encourage the factions to engage in the war but instead urged them to remain calm. Some observers believed that Iran did not want to risk its relations with Iraq after losing Syria.

-Another significant factor was the factions’ realization that the war exceeded their capabilities, especially in light of what Hezbollah faced in Lebanon and the Israeli penetrations inside Iran itself, which demonstrated that Israel possessed precise intelligence on hostile organizations and was able to reach its targets thanks to its technological superiority and these infiltrations.

-The sources indicated that despite all the pressure and efforts, “rogue groups” tried to prepare three attacks, but the authorities succeeded in thwarting them before they were carried out.

The sources estimated that Iran suffered a deep wound because Israel moved the battle onto Iranian soil and encouraged the US to target its nuclear facilities. They did not rule out another round of fighting “if Iran does not make the necessary concessions on the nuclear issue.”