The Coalition for Just Reparations (C4JR), an alliance of 32 Iraqi NGOs calling for comprehensive reparations for civilian victims of atrocity crimes perpetrated during the Da’esh/ISIL conflict in Iraq, expresses deep concern regarding potential inclusion of individuals convicted for their involvement in the Speicher Massacre under Iraq’s general amnesty framework.
A Ministry of Justice document, recently circulated in the media, lists ten prisoners in Nasiriyah Central Prison for transfer to the Salahuddin Governorate Police Department pursuant to the General Amnesty Law. However, the provisions of this law explicitly exclude individuals convicted under Anti-Terrorism Law (No. 13 of 2005) for crimes that resulted in death or permanent disability, as well as those found guilty of other terrorist crimes. The National Center for International Judicial Cooperation has previously clarified that the General Amnesty Law does not extend to perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes.
C4JR echoes the concerns of the Organization of the Victims of Iraq in Spyker 1700 and stands in solidarity with the families of the Speicher Massacre victims. This development has also caused deep distress among survivors from other affected communities — including Yazidis, Turkmen, Shabak, Christians, and others — who endured unimaginable atrocities at the hands of ISIL. It further raises serious legal questions regarding compliance with Iraq’s existing legislation as both Article 5 of the Speicher Law (No. 12 of 2019) and Article 9 of the Yazidi Survivors Law (No. 8 of 2021) explicitly prohibit any pardon or amnesty for those accused or convicted of perpetrating crimes stipulated therein (crimes of sexual violence committed against Yazidi, Turkmen, Shabak and Christian women and girls during their captivity after August 3, 2014, and killing of unarmed military cadets at the Speicher military camp near Tikrit in June 2014).
A persistent challenge, however, lies in the lack of distinction made during prosecutions of ISIL affiliates. All alleged perpetrators were tried solely under counterterrorism legislation—often charged only with ISIL membership, without differentiation according to the gravity of their acts or prioritization of the most serious international crimes. This prosecutorial gap has made it difficult to identify and hold accountable those responsible for the gravest atrocities, and it risks enabling impunity through broad amnesty measures.
C4JR recognizes that amnesty measures, in some contexts, may contribute to reconciliation. Yet reconciliation cannot come at the expense of justice. Allowing perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes to benefit from amnesty would undermine Iraq’s legal obligations, erode public trust in state institutions, and negate years of progress in acknowledging and addressing the suffering of survivors and families of victims.
For amnesty measures to serve their intended purpose, they must be designed and implemented with the utmost care—including transparent consultations with affected communities, clear legal safeguards, and fair trials that meet international standards for crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
C4JR therefore calls upon the Iraqi Government and Judiciary to:
1. Immediately review the listed cases to ensure compliance with existing national legislation;
2. Guarantee that no individual responsible for mass atrocity crimes benefits from amnesty;
3. Ensure accountability for ISIL’s international crimes through fair, transparent, and survivor-centered trials conducted in full compliance with the absolute and non-derogable international prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, so that survivors and families of victims can finally know the truth and see justice served.
