Criminal Responsibility of Members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) in Iraq and International Level

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student in Criminal Law and Criminology, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan Branch, Iran, Lahijan,

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Law, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Lahijan Branch, Iran, Lahijan

10.22091/dclic.2025.12130.1044

Abstract

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) is one of the greatest security threats that the world has faced in recent years, and even past decades. The world has never experienced such rapid growth of a terrorist organization; one that has been able to seize assets, control territories, key military and economic centers, natural resources and critical infrastructures, and spread its message widely using social media. In doing so, ISIS has used unbridled violence, including kidnapping, rape, beheading and other criminal acts. Its methods have led to the intimidation of opponents, the recruitment of foreign fighters, mass killings, forced displacement and conversion, the exploitation of women and children, genocide and other war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since criminal prosecution and imprisonment are the main forms of dealing with ISIS fighters in Iraq, we intend to analyze the laws that can be applied in these cases at the international and national (Iraqi) levels. Also, the processes and some cases of prosecuting ISIS fighters will be examined, using the existing analyses of international organizations operating in the region. Human rights violation, war crimes and crimes against humanity that ISIS has committed during its years of activity in Iraq have been identified. In this article, we will focus on genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in general, as well as analyze the penalties provided for these actions and their actual implementation at the national and international levels.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

رسولی ثانی‌آبادی، الهام (1397). «بررسی کنشگری داعش از منظر مفاهیم روابط بین‌الملل». فصلنامه دولت‌پژوهی، سال 14، شماره 13.
سمیعی‌اصفهانی، علیرضا و شریف‌یلمه، ایمان (1395). «واکاوی ریشه‌های شکل‌گیری داعش در سوریه و عراق». مطالعات سیاسی جهان اسلام، دوره 5، شماره 2.
عباس‌زاده، مهدی (1398). «بررسی شکل‌گیری داعش بر اساس نظریه پسابین‌الملل فرگوسن و منزیاخ». فصلنامه پژوهش‌های سیاسی جهان اسلام، سال 9، شماره 3.
نجفی‌اسفاد، مرتضی و جلالیان، عسگر (1391). «ضرورت تأسیس دادگاه بین‌الملل محیط‌زیست جهات حمایت کیفری و حقوقی از محیط‌زیست در مورد خسارت وارده در جنگ 22 روزه غزه». فصلنامه راهبرد، شماره 62.
نژندی‌منش، هیبت الله، حسینی‌آزاد، سید علی و زحمتکش، مجید (1399). «تأملی در امکان‌سنجی اعمال صلاحیت دیوان کیفری بین‌المللی نسبت به جرائم زیست‌محیطی». پژوهشنامه حقوق کیفری، سال 11، شماره 2.
References
Cassese, A (2009). Affirmation of the Principles of International Law recognized by the Charter of the Nurnberg Tribunal General Assembly Resolution 95 (I) – Introductory note. https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/ga_95-I/ga_95-I.html.
Central Intelligence Agency (2021). The World factbook – Iraq. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/#government
Chatham house (2021). Radicalization. https://www.chathamhouse.org/topics/radicalization
Clarke, M (2019). Iraq. In A. Silke (Ed.), Routledge handbook of terrorism and counterterrorism (pp. 563–573). Routledge.
Ellis, R (2014). U.N. panel details ISIS abuses in Syria, says they amount to war crimes. CNN. http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/14/world/meast/isis-war-crimes/ (22nd June 2021).
Euro just (2020). Cumulative prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters for core international crimes and terrorism-related offences. https://www.eurojust.europa.eu/sites/default/files/Partners/Genocide/2020-05_Report-on-cumulative-prosecution-of-FTFs_EN.PDF
Gaffney, F (2019). Islamic State. In A. Silke (Ed.), Routledge handbook of terrorism and counterterrorism (pp. 315–324). Routledge.
Human Rights Council (2015). Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on human rights situation in Iraq in the light of abuses committed by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and associated groups. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session28/Pages/ListReports.aspx
Human Rights Watch (2017). Flawed Justice: Accountability for ISIS Crimes in Iraq. https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/12/05/flawed-justice/accountability-isis-crimes-iraq
Constitute (2005). Iraq’s Constitution. https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iraq_2005.pdf?lang=en
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, July 17, 1998. https://www.icc-cpi.int/resource-library/documents/rs-eng.pdf
Stern, J., & Berger, J. M (2015). ISIS: The state of terror. HarperCollins Publishers.
United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (2020). Human Rights in the Administration of Justice in Iraq: Trials under the anti-terrorism laws and implications for justice, accountability and social cohesion in the aftermath of ISIL. https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources terrorism_laws_and_the_implications_for_justice_28012020.pdf
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2013). United Nations Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems. https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/UN_principles_and_guidelines_on_access_to_legal_aid.pdf
Criminal Law Doctrines of Islamic Countries
Volume 2, Issue 3 - Serial Number 7
September 2025
Pages 75-92

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics