IS-linked Australians in Iraq face 'risk of unfair prosecution', HRW warns - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The 13 Australians were among almost 5,700 men and boys transferred to Iraq from Syria earlier this year. (Reuters: Ahmed Saad)

Human Rights Watch has accused the Albanese government of "outsourcing" its responsibilities with regards to 13 Australians being held in Iraqi jails.

The group warns the Australians, who are being held on suspicion of links to the Islamic State group, face inhumane treatment and potential execution.

Iraqi authorities have called for greater support as the nation deals with the burden of cases.

Grave concerns are being raised for 13 Australians believed to be held in Iraqi jails on suspicion of links to the Islamic State (IS) group, with Human Rights Watch (HRW) warning they face inhumane treatment and potential execution.

The organisation has accused the Albanese government of "outsourcing" its responsibilities with regards to the group, given it has explicitly insisted it is making no efforts to repatriate the men to Australia despite calls from Iraq to take them back.

The 13 Australians were among almost 5,700 men and boys transferred to Iraq from Syria by the United States military in a hastily arranged mission earlier this year, as Syrian government forces swept through territory once held by Kurdish authorities.

In early September, Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council announced it had finished interrogations of the men and would move to begin prosecutions.

In a report released on Monday afternoon, HRW said Iraq had a long history of torture and unlawful executions within its prison system, and argued that should sound alarm for countries such as Australia.

"I think a lot of countries of origin of these detainees, including Australia, would like to think that sending them to Iraq is a 'mission accomplished'," HRW's senior counterterrorism adviser Letta Tayler told the ABC.

"Iraq is a sovereign state; in the past, these men and boys were being held by a non-state actor inside war-torn Syria.

"So on the surface, this might look a lot better, this might look like an improvement and certainly conditions are better in Iraq, relatively speaking.

"But the bottom line is these men in particular still face a real risk of unfair prosecution followed by execution."

Perth-born paediatrician Tareq Kamleh, who has been dubbed "Dr Jihad", is thought to be among the Australians in jail in Baghdad.

Tareq Kamleh travelled to Syria in 2015 to join the Islamic State group. (Facebook: Tareq Kamleh)

Yusuf Zahab, now believed to be in his early 20s, is also thought to be in the group, having been detained by Kurdish forces in north-eastern Syria in 2019 when he was still a teenager.

He was taken to Syria from Australia by relatives wanting to live under IS rule when he was just 12 years old.

It has been reported he was injured in an IS attack on the Syrian prison where he was held in 2022, and had previously been suffering from tuberculosis behind bars.

HRW said a family member had told it that Kurdish authorities had agreed to release him, but he was transferred to Iraq just days before they arrived to take him home.

That was around the same time a group of Australian women tried to flee the Al Roj camp in Syria to begin their perilous journey back to Australia.

Ms Tayler said sources had told HRW that Iraqi authorities had said "a number of countries" had approached them "requesting that they waive the death penalty for their nationals if convicted".

But she said there was no "official commitment" that Iraq would do that, and no confirmation from her discussions that Australia was one of them.

That is despite Australia's history of advocating against the death penalty.

"Iraqi authorities have said that they will abide by international fair trial standards," Ms Tayler said.

"And I do get the impression from several sources I spoke with, both inside and outside the Iraqi government, that there is a strong commitment to do so on the part of ranking Iraqi judiciary members.

"However, Iraq does have a long substantial record of fair trial violations, including the use of confessions extracted apparently through torture.

"And so can Iraq really change this record almost overnight? Can it initiate reforms to make these trials truly fair, particularly given this international push to have all of these men prosecuted as soon as possible?"

Iraqi authorities have called for greater support as it deals with the burden of the cases.

The Albanese government has insisted it is not doing anything to help bring the men back to Australia.

The office of Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has been contacted for comment.

"Surely a country [Australia] of this size and stature with a robust democratic system and judiciary is capable of bringing home 13 men," Ms Tayler said.

"One of whom, at least, is himself a victim of ISIS and has been detained since childhood."

Ms Tayler went on to say that Australia is capable of assessing whether any of the men should be prosecuted, and if they are, process them through domestic courts.

"It's long past time for Australia and other countries to stop outsourcing responsibility for its nationals, to entities overseas, to captors overseas," she said.

"I do believe that Iraq has good intentions, at least at the highest level, to do what it can. But this is a near impossible burden to have dumped into Iraq's lap."