Judge to rule on repatriation of ISIS refugees in January

A HIGH COURT judge has set January 27 for decision on a lawsuit filed by the families of a group of women and children who are seeking to return to TT from a Kurdish-run al-Hol refugee camp in northern Syria.

On Monday, Justice Joan Charles was expected to hear oral submissions by attorneys for the applicants and the State. However, she rescheduled the matter and ordered the filing of submissions instead, and will now give her decision on January 27 at a virtual hearing.

Before her is a rolled-up application for leave for judicial review and a constitutional motion filed by the families of at least ten women and children at the al-Hol camp that say the women and children form part of a vulnerable group because of their refugee status and were at risk of exploitation and abuse.

They are also facing the threat of covid19. At least five of the children were born in Syria.

At a previous hearing, Charles said she wanted to move the matter further with Senior Counsel Elton Prescott, who leads attorneys Criston Williams and Kerrina Samdeo for the families, saying any delay “adds to the agony of those abroad.”

Prescott has suggested that as citizens they cannot be denied entry into the country, but lead counsel for the state, Reginald Armour, SC, has said it was not established that they were citizens of this country.

“It is relevant to determine if they are even citizens. So far, that information is not available to the State.

“That is a very important point to be verified in any repatriation point,” Armour said.

Charles, in approving the suggestion to hear the judicial review and constitutional claims together, had acknowledged that there might be national security concerns.

In their application, the families said they made several attempts to have the issue of repatriation addressed since April, last year.

It also added that conditions at the camp were unsafe and unhealthy with hardly any food or water and there was an infestation of flies. Toilet facilities are holes dug into the ground.

The families complain that they are concerned about the women’s safety at the camp. They also pointed out that at least five countries have repatriated their citizens from the camp, including France, the US and the UK which started repatriating children.

It said the International Committee of the Red Cross was willing to assist in the repatriation of the women and children if a request is made by the Government.

Previously, one of the women at the al-Hol refugee camp wrote to Prime Minister Dr Rowley appealing for her and her five children to be brought home.

“I am a holder of both a master of science and bachelor of science degree and I have served the Government successfully on many occasions in the past. I am writing to you cause (sic) I feel I am left with no other choice.

“All I am requesting of you is simply to bring my children and myself home, along with my other colleagues. As a TT citizen, it makes me liable to all democratic rights, whether I am there or not. I have been in this camp with my children since December 2018 and I must say it was not easy and still is not.

“Why must my children and I suffer because my husband and I decided to migrate to another land, which at the time, seemed like the best thing for us to do?” she wrote.

Almost 68 people — mainly children and women — have been detained at al-Hol and other refugee camps. International figures suggest about 130 nationals, including fighters and families, went to the ISIS conflict zones during the period 2012-2015.

The families will be asking the court to order the minister to allow the group admission into TT or give an assurance that they will not be denied entry into the country.