London: Human Rights Watch has urged the government of Trinidad and Tobago to repatriate a number of its citizens from Iraq being held in detention for alleged involvement with Daesh.
HRW said four Trinidadian women have been held by authorities in Iraq along with seven children, aged 7-15 years, for almost seven years.
It said it had been in contact with one mother, currently in Rusafa prison, who on May 2 told them in a voice recording that her two sons, aged 13 and 15 — one of whom suffers from asthma, anaemia and malnutrition — had been taken away from her.
“They took my son from me, they told me he was too big to be staying in a cell with us. They put him in a cell with about 10 boys,” she said.
“We have no education for our children. Nothing. We are going on our seventh year in prison and our children are growing up here.”
Another mother told HRW on May 4: “We are here just waiting, and time is wasting. Our children remain uneducated without any knowledge.”
Rusafa is believed to hold around 100 youths as well as their mothers, with many of the adults foreign nationals charged with or convicted of terrorism-related crimes.
Three of the four Trinidadian women are being held there, serving sentences of 20 years or more.
The fourth is being held with her two children in the city of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, where she has completed her sentence but cannot leave without government help.
Jo Becker, children’s rights advocacy director at HRW, said: “Trinidad and Tobago has publicly promised that it would bring home its nationals from Iraq and Syria, but not a single Trinidadian has returned home in more than five years.
“These children, who are not responsible for any crime, should be in school in Trinidad and Tobago, not languishing in an Iraqi prison.”
The four women from Trinidad and Tobago told HRW that they are prepared to have their children repatriated even if it means they must stay in Iraq, but have had no word on a decision by the government despite communicating with the repatriation committee established by Trinidadian Prime Minister Keith Rowley in March 2023.
HRW said the Trinidadian authorities should look to repatriate the children as they have been denied proper access to education, healthcare and nutritious food.
In a statement, it said: “The Iraqi and Trinidadian authorities should weigh the children’s best interests and right to family unity and consider repatriating both the children and their mothers, so their children could regularly visit their mothers as they serve out their sentences in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Becker added: “Trinidad and Tobago’s prime minister has pledged to bring the Trinidadians detained in Iraq and Syria home. He shouldn’t wait any longer.”
