Kurdish-run courts put militant fighters on trial in Syria скачать в хорошем качестве

Kurdish-run courts put militant fighters on trial in Syria

(7 May 2018) In a security compound in the Kurdish-administered city of Qamishli in northern Syria, a suspected Islamic State member stands trial in one of the several special tribunals Syrian Kurds have created to administer justice in the part of the country under their control. The now 19-year-old former fighter is being interrogated and judged by three judges - two men and a woman - in a small room without guards, cages, members of the public, defence lawyers or the opportunity to appeal. The special tribunals have been created after the US-backed Kurdish forces in northern Syria defeated the Islamic State. In these terrorism courts, called "People's Defence Courts", there is also no fear of the death sentence, unlike in Iraqi and Syrian government courts. Nor are there the speedy procedures, cursory questions or tension which have characterized trials of suspected IS affiliates in neighbouring Iraq. Since the Syrian government pulled out of the ethnically-Kurdish areas in 2012, Syrian Kurds have worked to exert autonomy, establishing local administrations, security forces, parliaments and courts. The Kurds built their justice system from scratch and the huge number of suspected former IS militants in their prisons prompted them to establish special terrorism courts. Two top judges at the head of their Justice Council say they took inspiration from the French, Swiss and Italian legal codes. They abolished the death sentence, offered leniency to those who handed themselves in and organised reconciliation and mediation efforts with major Arab tribes that often resulted in amnesties for detainees. More than 80 Islamic State fighters were granted amnesty last year after their release was deemed more important to fostering good tribal relations and to convincing others to come forth. However, the system lacks international recognition, thus leaving the Kurds alone in their effort to bring justice. In particular, local authorities are left unable to determine the fate of foreign fighters whose home countries don't want them repatriated but don't recognise the local courts in northern Syria. There is no official record of the total number of detainees, but some estimates put the figure at 4,000 in various facilities in northern Syria. There are another estimated 400 foreign fighters held by the Kurdish-led authorities, and some 2,000 women and children - the families of foreign fighters - kept in refugee camps under tight security. Nadim Houry, director of the counter-terrorism programme at Human Rights Watch, said officials in self-administration areas had expressed commitment to international law to build a recognized judicial system which leaves no one in detention without trial, although questions remain about the absence of defence lawyers or the possibility of appeal. Since 2015, the terrorism court in Qamishli - the largest in the Kurdish self-administration areas - some 1,500 were convicted on charges of terrorism, with only 146 of them sentenced to life in prison, which is a 20-year-sentence. During the same period, 133 detainees were released due to of lack of evidence. The trials have increased exponentially as IS have collapsed. In 2017, 674 were convicted on charges of fighting with the militant group - nearly double those tried the year before. Since January 2018, some 225 suspected members have already been put on trial, according to court records obtained by The Associated Press. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...