Lawyers for French nationals accused of ISIL membership say their clients were tortured after being transferred from Syrian detention facilities to Iraqi prisons on U.S.-run flights. During a two-day visit to Baghdad, attorneys Marie Dose and Matthieu Bagard reported that 13 detainees described physical abuse and threats aimed at forcing confessions that would establish Iraqi jurisdiction. The transfers followed fighting in northeastern Syria and concerns over detainee escapes; international outlets report hundreds have already been moved, and Iraqi officials say the transfers are temporary while urging repatriation.
French ISIL Suspects Transferred From Syria Allege Torture in Iraqi Prisons, Lawyers Say
Guards stand in a corridor in a prison run by the Syrian Democratic Forces and housing alleged ISIL members in Hasakah in northeastern Syria in January 2025 [File: Bernat Armangue/AP]
Lawyers for a group of French nationals accused of belonging to ISIL (ISIS) say their clients were subjected to "torture and inhumane treatment" after being transferred by the United States from detention facilities in Syria to prisons in Iraq.
French outlets reported that attorneys Marie Dose and Matthieu Bagard visited the detainees in Baghdad during a recent trip and relayed detailed allegations of ill-treatment while in Iraqi custody.
Allegations Reported by Lawyers
According to the lawyers, the accused described physical and psychological abuses that included being slapped, strangled, handcuffed behind the back "with a pulley system," and threatened with sexual violence using iron bars. The lawyers said the methods were allegedly used to force confessions that the men had been present in Iraq during their time with ISIL — a claim that would give Iraqi courts jurisdiction to prosecute them.
"They assured us that they had not been in Iraq before their arrest in Syria and their transfer to Baghdad," Dose and Bagard said, summarizing what the detainees told them.
Who Was Visited and When
The two-day visit, which began on Sunday, was conducted on behalf of the prisoners' families. The lawyers said they met 13 of about 47 French nationals believed to be ISIL members and currently held in Iraqi detention facilities. Those 13 told the lawyers they were arrested between 2017 and March 23, 2019 — the date ISIL lost its final territorial foothold in Baghouz, Syria.
The detainees also reported prior detention in a northeastern Syrian jail under harsh conditions, saying that four French inmates died there from illness and "severe deficiencies." They said they had been questioned repeatedly by agents they identified as from the FBI and CIA and by other officials they believed represented France and the European Union.
Transfers and Regional Context
The lawyers' statements come amid a series of transfers of ISIL suspects from Syrian prisons and camps to Iraqi facilities aboard U.S. military flights. The transfers accelerated after a Syrian government advance in the northeast against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) — a U.S.-trained and -supported force that has held camps and prisons for years.
Fighting in areas such as al-Shaddadi raised concerns about detainee escapes and the risk of ISIL regrouping, prompting an arrangement to move prisoners to jails in Iraq. The Associated Press reported that 275 prisoners had been moved so far, while the Anadolu Agency said the agreement could eventually transfer thousands.
Official Responses
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani described the transfers as "temporary" and urged countries to repatriate their nationals. Separately, Iraq’s highest judicial body said it plans to prosecute the transferred detainees following a meeting of senior security and political officials.
Note: The allegations of torture and ill-treatment are reported by the detainees’ lawyers and have not been independently verified in this report. Iraqi authorities and the U.S. military have not been quoted here responding to these specific claims.
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