the Roj camp speaking with camp authorities.66 He also stated that the British Special
Forces appeared to have an established protocol, suggesting that this was a regular
occurrence. In an interview with RSI, Dr Abdulkarim Omar, Co-Head of the Department of
Foreign Relations of the AANES, stated that ‘[a]lmost all European countries have
intelligence services who conduct investigations and have all the information on
people there.’67
85. Indeed, it appears that European States may have an influence over the camps to the extent
that they are able to direct what happens on the ground from afar. For example, there are
reports that the parents of French nationals detained in the camps were given authorisation
by the Kurds to enter the camp, but upon arrival were denied entry on the basis of their
nationality and told that a special prohibition was imposed upon her ‘from high up’. In addition,
RSI’s research suggests that on some occasions when information obtained from individuals
in the camps was shared with their State’s Government, these individuals were searched
within hours by camp authorities in an attempt to reveal the means of communication with
the outside world.68
The European States that are the subject of this report
have the sole ability to end the detention of their nationals.
86. The European States that are the subject of this report have the sole ability to end the
detention of their nationals. The AANES have made repeated requests for foreign States to
repatriate their nationals and have made clear that they will not release them unless and
until these States repatriate them.69 Contrary to what has been stated by some
European politicians, repatriation of their nationals from the al Hol and Roj camps is
logistically possible and does not pose an insurmountable safety risk to the State officials
involved. This is evidenced by the fact that some repatriations have already been carried
out by all five of the European States that are the subject of this report and that there is
evidence of a number of States having had a presence on the ground.70
REPATRIATION PATHWAYS
PASSPORT
Repatriation
34
ASSESSMENT
Assessment
of security risks
Prosecution/
Rehabilitation
Reintegration
RIGHTS & SECURITY INTERNATIONAL
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