Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Turkish Ambassador to Iraq Anil Bora Inan revealed on Monday that Turkey will soon repatriate its nationals accused of joining the ISIS organization from prisons in Iraq.
In a statement to the official Iraqi newspaper, al-Sabah, Inan called on other countries to repatriate their citizens who are facing terrorism charges in Iraq.
In early 2026, the Iraqi Ministry of Justice said that 181 Turkish nationals were among the 5,700 inmates moved from northeast Syria, representing 61 different nations.
Following the arrival of ISIS prisoners from Syria, the authorities in Iraq have begun reviewing cases through judicial and security committees, with inmates cleared of terrorism charges deported under world-wide judicial coordination.
Turkey is not the only country cooperating with Iraq on the repatriation of individuals accused of terrorism. In February, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced that the Russian government is prepared to repatriate its citizens who are imprisoned in Iraq on terrorist charges linked to ISIS.
The step took place after Baghdad formally asked Russia to repatriate its nationals who were members of ISIS and are presently detained in Iraqi prisons.
The decision is part of Iraq’s larger attempts to repatriate foreign prisoners to their home countries to maintain regional and international stability.
In late January, the United States and Iraq agreed to transfer around 5,700 ISIS detainees from Syria to Iraq for trial.
The transfer represented an important step toward integrating ISIS-related detention files under Iraqi authority, as part of continuing regional efforts to manage the long-term security consequences of foreign terrorists arrested during anti-ISIS operations.
