Citizens of Tajikistan still cannot return from Iraq

The authorities of Tajikistan and Iraq intend to repatriate Tajik citizens who are stuck in prisons and refugee camps after the defeat of ISIS in Iraq.

According to the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan, on March 3, 2024, the Tajik ambassador to Iraq, Zubaidullo Zubaidzoda, met in Baghdad with the Prime Minister of Iraq, Muhammad Shia al-Sudani.

It is reported that during his working visit to Iraq, Zubaidullo Zubaidzoda raised the issue of repatriating the remaining Tajik citizens from Iraq to their homeland.

Previously, during official meetings with the Iraqi authorities, the Tajik authorities repeatedly discussed the issue of repatriating Tajik citizens who are stuck in Iraqi prisons and refugee camps after the defeat of the Islamic State.

From 2014 to 2017, when ISIS seized parts of Iraq and Syria and declared the establishment of a state, thousands of young people from around the world, including from European Union countries, the USA, the UK, Arab countries, African countries, and Central Asia, particularly Tajikistan, joined this group and went there with their wives and children.

After the defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, thousands of women and children remained. Most were placed in closed refugee camps, while some received prison sentences. The authorities of Iraq and Syria have called on all countries to repatriate their citizens.

The authorities of Tajikistan have begun the process of returning Tajik citizens who have been sentenced to prison for membership in ISIS and participation in hostilities, particularly women and children from Iraq and Syria. Hundreds of women and children have already been repatriated from Syria.