Latest news with #ISIS-controlled
Shafaq News
7 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
KRG: No forced returns for displaced Iraqis
Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) reiterated its opposition to the forced return of internally displaced persons, especially to former ISIS-controlled areas. Dindar Zebari, the KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy, announced during the Conference on Missing Persons in the Middle East and North Africa that 'the people of Kurdistan have borne the brunt of atrocities—from the notorious Anfal campaign to the crimes committed by ISIS against Yazidis and other minorities,' reaffirming the KRG's deep commitment to uncovering the fate of the missing and ensuring accountability for crimes of enforced disappearance. Zebari recalled the disappearance of over 182,000 civilians during the Anfal operations, including 8,000 Barzani men, noting that the remains of victims have been recovered from 75 mass graves across Iraq, with 3,659 victims identified and returned to their families. The KRG has worked to rescue victims of ISIS. Out of 6,417 documented cases of Yazidi abductions, 3,587 individuals have been freed, while 2,830 remain missing. The official backed international recommendations on addressing enforced disappearances, including criminalization, investigative reforms, and better protections for vulnerable groups—measures already incorporated into the region's 2021–2025 Human Rights Action Plan focused on justice and survivor support. He also called on the international community to fulfill its humanitarian responsibilities and provide the technical, financial, and logistical support needed to accelerate investigations into enforced disappearances. Zebari highlighted cooperation with the United Nations Investigative Team (UNITAD), which led to the preservation and digitization of more than 408,000 pages of investigative files—documents he described as essential for future legal proceedings against ISIS perpetrators. He pointed to the KRG's rehabilitation and support initiatives, including the Psychological Treatment Institute in Duhok, a center documenting genocide-related sexual crimes, and a facility dedicated to assisting liberated women. 'These institutions have collectively provided psychological and legal support to over 1,278 survivors,' Zebari pointed out. He also showcased the KRG's use of advanced forensic tools, including DNA analysis, as a vital means of identifying remains and offering closure to victims' families.
Time of India
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
'Didn't violate any bail condition': SC upholds Delhi HC order on man booked under UAPA for 'sympathising' with ISIS
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Delhi high court order granting bail to a man booked under the stringent anti-terror UAPA law for allegedly sympathising with the terrorist group ISIS. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now A bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said the accused Ammar Abdul Rahiman did not violate any of the bail conditions. No instances were brought on record to show Rahiman violated the bail conditions, it added. The bench also noted the accused was arrested on August 4, 2021, and the trial was yet to conclude. "Prosecution proposes to examine more than 160 witnesses, out of whom 44 have been examined till now. Conclusion of the trial will take some reasonable time. Respondent was released on bail after spending about three years in custody as an undertrial," news agency PTI quoted the bench as saying. The judges observed the accused regularly appeared in the trial court and did not attempt to obstruct the ongoing trial. "We see no reason to cancel the bail granted to the respondent," their order read. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), accepted Rahiman cooperated in the investigation and regularly appeared in the trial court. Bhati, however, objected to his plea to apply for the passport to travel abroad till the trial was pending. The bench restrained the accused from foreign travel while the trial is pending, and without their permission. On May 6 last year, the Delhi high court granted bail to Rahiman. A high court bench observed the material on record did not suggest commission of offences under Section 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) or 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The NIA alleged Rahiman was "highly radicalised" towards ISIS and allegedly entered into criminal conspiracy with known and unknown ISIS members for undertaking "Hijrah" (religious migration) to Jammu and Kashmir and other ISIS-controlled territory to join the group for "establishment of Caliphate" and to carry out its activities in India.
The National
09-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Mother on trial in Austria after repatriation from Syrian detention camp
Woman faces a decade in prison if found guilty of being a member of ISIS An Austrian woman who spent almost eight years in a detention camp in Syria with her son, before both were repatriated, went on trial in Vienna on Wednesday. Evelyn T, who is accused of having been a member of a terrorist group from 2015 to 2017, could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. She left Austria for Syria's then ISIS-controlled area in 2016 to join her husband, 'supporting him psychologically and taking care of the household', according to the charges. Evelyn T has been in detention since returning to Austria last month with her son, seven, who was place in social services' custody. The son was born in 2017. The couple surrendered later that year, with Evelyn T and her son ending up in a Kurdish-run detention camp. On Wednesday, the 26-year-old was expected to plead guilty in court to the charges of being part of a terrorist group and a criminal organisation, according to her lawyer Anna Mair, in the first such case in the country. 'She takes responsibility for what she has done … and she wants to lead a normal life in the future,' Ms Mair said ahead of the trial's opening. Since ISIS was ousted from its self-declared 'caliphate' in 2019, the return of family members of fighters who were either captured or killed has been a thorny issue for European countries. Evelyn T was repatriated together with another woman, Maria G, and her two sons. Maria G, now 28, left Austria in 2017 to join ISIS in Syria. She has remained free since her return, while an investigation takes place. Last year, a Vienna court ordered that she and her sons be repatriated, stressing that it was 'in the children's greater interest'. Austria's Foreign Ministry had previously rejected her request to be repatriated, saying that only the children would be accepted. The EU member previously repatriated several children. Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands are among other countries that have repatriated relatives of militant group fighters.
The Independent
04-03-2025
- General
- The Independent
Refugee family ‘saved' by Pope Francis unite in prayer for ailing 88-year-old's health
As the sun set on Sunday evening, marking the end of the day's Ramadan fast, Hasan Zaheda and his son played basketball in the small courtyard of their basement apartment on the outskirts of Rome. The Syrian refugee family is rebuilding their lives in the city after fleeing Damascus at the height of the civil war with only a few possessions. Though they have no photos from their homeland, they keep a framed photo of their young son, Riad, meeting Pope Francis in pride of place in their home. The pontiff brought them and two other Muslim families to Italy from a refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos nearly a decade ago. "He's a gift from paradise," Mr Zaheda said, smiling. " Pope Francis, a gift from our God, that God sent us to save us." As the Zahedas began observing Ramadan, Pope Francis, 88, was in his third week of treatment for pneumonia in a Rome hospital. The family said they are praying for him day and night. "We look for his health bulletin every day," said Nour Essa, Riad's mother, recalling their meeting with the pontiff in Lesbos. "What shocked me the most is that the father of the church was a modest man, who didn't have prejudices, open toward other ethnicities and religion." The family remembers the kindness Francis showed Riad as he patted the boy's head while walking down the aisle of the papal plane, a highly visible moment of advocacy for migrants that has defined much of Francis' papacy. But 'miraculous' as it appeared to them, it was only the beginning of a new life in Italy to which they're still adjusting. In 2015, biologist Ms Essa and architect Mr Zaheda made the life-altering decision to leave Syria after Ms Essa was drafted into the military. To finance their escape, they sold their house and paid a smuggler, enduring a harrowing journey through the desert, including a 10-hour truck ride. Navigating through ISIS-controlled territory, they eventually reached Turkey. After three unsuccessful attempts to cross by boat to the Greek islands, they arrived in Lesbos in early 2016. "I always thank God that my son was so small, and that he has no memory of all these things," Ms Essa said, while their son Riad watched a Syrian soap opera with his grandfather, who had fled Syria a year later. The walls of their living room are adorned with Mr Zaheda's paintings, depicting white faces against black and red, reflecting the vivid memories of the parents. After spending over a month in a Lesbos camp, the family was approached by Daniela Pompei, head of migration and integration for the Catholic charity Sant'Egidio. Pompei was seeking families with the necessary paperwork for Pope Francis to bring back to Rome. They accepted immediately. With Vatican funds, the charity has since brought over 300 refugees from Greece and 150 from Cyprus in 2021, following another papal trip. Sant'Egidio's goal was to spare migrants longer journeys by sea across different routes in the Mediterranean, which have killed tens of thousands of asylum-seekers willing to 'die for hope' over the years, Ms Pompei said. But the real test has been integration, from processing their asylum cases to learning Italian to school and job placement. Initiatives like the pope's make all the difference because they signal to the refugees that their new communities are willing to welcome them, despite faith differences. 'The pope has long appealed to open parishes, to welcome at least one family in each parish, to push us Catholics too to counter what he called, with a very strong term in Lampedusa, 'the globalisation of indifference,'' Ms Pompei said. In the characteristic Roman accent they've acquired, the Zaheda parents told of their challenges – having to reenroll in university so their degrees can be recognised, helping their families come to Europe, taking care of their son. Working or studying 12 hours a day, they rarely have time to socialise with other Syrian families and the migrants who comprise most of their neighbors in the modest brick-faced apartment buildings as well as most of Riad's classmates. His best friend is from Ecuador, and Riad plans to study Spanish in middle school. He's joined a local basketball team, and pictures from the court line his bedroom, where a large Syrian flag hangs by his bunkbed. He likes to read The Little Prince in English, but his Arabic is tentative, even though he spends most afternoons with his grandfather, who loves to sketch local churches. For Sunday's iftar – the meal breaking the day's fast – the family topped a little table with yogurt-and-chickpea tisiyeh salad and take-out pizza in typical Roman flavors like zucchini flowers and anchovies. As Riad packed his backpack for the school week, his parents said their future hinges on the little boy – for whom they will likely stay in Italy, instead of joining relatives in France or returning to a Syria they probably couldn't recognise. 'I always wish that he can build his future, that he can build a position as the son of an undocumented migrant who arrived in Italy and who wanted to leave his mark in a new country,' Mr Zaheda said.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Syrian refugee family that Pope Francis brought to Rome prays for him as they build new life
ROME (AP) — Just before breaking the Ramadan fast on Sunday evening, Hasan Zaheda played basketball with his son in the tiny courtyard of the basement-level apartment on Rome's outskirts where the refugee family is rebuilding their lives. They have no pictures from their native Syria – they fled Damascus at the height of the civil war with only one change of clothes, diapers and milk for their toddler. But there is a framed photo of little Riad meeting Pope Francis, who brought them and two other Muslim families back with him to Italy from refugee camps in the Greek island of Lesbos almost a decade ago. 'He's a gift from paradise,' Zaheda said Sunday, chuckling. 'Pope Francis, a gift from our God, that God sent us to save us.' See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. As the Zahedas began to observe the holy month of Ramadan, Francis, 88, entered his third week of battling pneumonia in a hospital not far away. The least they can do, the family said, is to be close to him in prayer night and day. 'We look for his health bulletin every day,' said the mother, Nour Essa, 39, after recalling meeting the pontiff suddenly in Lesbos. 'What shocked me the most is that the father of the church was a modest man, who didn't have prejudices, open toward other ethnicities and religion.' The family journeyed on the pope's plane – one of the most visible moments of advocacy for migrants that marked Francis' papacy. The Zahedas remember how kindly Francis patted Riad's head as he passed down the aisle to speak with journalists. But 'miraculous' as it appeared to them, it was only the beginning of a new life in Italy to which they're still adjusting. Essa, a biologist, and Zaheda, an architect who worked as a civil servant in Damascus, decided to leave Syria in 2015 after he was drafted into the military. They sold their house to pay for a smuggler, walking through the night trying not to make a sound in the desert and at one point riding for ten hours in different trucks. After scrambling to get through ISIS-controlled territory, they made it into Turkey and then had three failed attempts to reach the Greek islands by boat before arriving in Lesbos in early 2016. 'I always thank God that my son was so small, and that he has no memory of all these things,' Essa said as Riad watched a Syrian soap opera in the cramped living room with his grandfather, who fled about a year after them. On the walls, Hasan's haunting paintings of white faces against swirling black and red tell of the parents' all-too-vivid memories. After more than one month in a Lesbos camp, the family was approached for an interview by a stranger – Daniela Pompei, the head of migration and integration for the Catholic charity Sant'Egidio. She had been tasked with finding families with appropriate paperwork that Francis could bring back to Rome with him, and asked them to make a decision on the spot. They accepted, and the charity, with Vatican funds, eventually brought more than 300 refugees from Greece and 150 from another papal trip to Cyprus in 2021. Sant'Egidio's goal was to spare migrants longer journeys by sea across different routes in the Mediterranean, which have killed tens of thousands of asylum-seekers willing to 'die for hope' over the years, Pompei said. But the real test has been integration, from processing their asylum cases to learning Italian to school and job placement. Initiatives like the pope's make all the difference because they signal to the refugees that their new communities are willing to welcome them, despite faith differences. 'The pope has long appealed to open parishes, to welcome at least one family in each parish, to push us Catholics too to counter what he called, with a very strong term in Lampedusa, 'the globalization of indifference,'' Pompei said. In the characteristic Roman accent they've acquired, the Zaheda parents told of their challenges – having to reenroll in university so their degrees can be recognized, helping their families come to Europe, taking care of their son. Working or studying 12 hours a day, they rarely have time to socialize with other Syrian families and the migrants who comprise most of their neighbors in the modest brick-faced apartment buildings as well as most of Riad's classmates. His best friend is from Ecuador, and Riad plans to study Spanish in middle school. He's joined a local basketball team, and pictures from the court line his bedroom, where a large Syrian flag hangs by his bunkbed. He likes to read The Little Prince in English, but his Arabic is tentative, even though he spends most afternoons with his grandfather, who loves to sketch local churches. For Sunday's iftar – the meal breaking the day's fast – the family topped a little table with yogurt-and-chickpea tisiyeh salad and take-out pizza in typical Roman flavors like zucchini flowers and anchovies. As Riad packed his backpack for the school week, his parents said their future hinges on the little boy – for whom they will likely stay in Italy, instead of joining relatives in France or returning to a Syria they probably couldn't recognize. 'I always wish that he can build his future, that he can build a position as the son of an undocumented migrant who arrived in Italy and who wanted to leave his mark in a new country,' Zaheda said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
