Iraq releases over 41,300 inmates under amnesty law: Judiciary

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq has released more than 41,300 detainees under the General Amnesty Law, the country’s highest administrative authority reported on Tuesday, noting that the move has saved roughly $67 million.

In a statement, the Supreme Judicial Council said that “the total number of people released from prisons and detention centers under the amended Amnesty Law No. 27 of 2016 for the month of January reached 41,364 people.”

The council added that “the number of those covered by the law among suspects subject to arrest or summon warrants, as well as guarantors and those convicted in absentia, reached 166,283 people."

It further indicated that “the total amount of funds recovered through the implementation of the law” exceeded 87.4 billion Iraqi dinars (around $67 million).

The Iraqi parliament passed an amendment to the General Amnesty Law in January, as part of a broader legislative package that also included changes to the Personal Status Law and a property restitution law.

The amnesty law has long been a key demand of Sunni Arab political parties, who argue that post-2003 anti-terrorism laws disproportionately target their community.

The amendment notably revised the definition of “affiliation with terrorist organizations” - a change that was a key condition for Sunni Arab blocs to join the then-ruling State Administration Coalition. The amended bill went into effect in mid-February.

Following the 2014 seizure of large parts of Iraq by the Islamic State (ISIS), thousands were arrested for alleged links to the group, particularly in predominantly Sunni provinces such as Anbar, Nineveh, and Salahaddin.

According to the Iraqi justice ministry, the country has 30 prisons housing roughly 67,000 inmates, including about 1,600 foreign nationals. However, these figures do not include prisons in the Kurdistan Region or detainees held by security forces and various armed groups elsewhere in Iraq.

Of note, the Supreme Judicial Council had announced on Monday that an Iraqi court has initiated “investigative procedures” regarding nearly 1,400 ISIS suspects recently transferred from neighboring Syria.

READ MORE: Iraqi begins ‘investigative procedures’ for nearly 1,400 ISIS prisoners transferred from Syria