Prof. Fionnuala Ní Aoláin Quoted in Irish Times About Current Conditions at Syrian Detention Facilities

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, Regents Professor and Robina Chair in Law, Public Policy, and Society, was quoted in the Irish Times about the many detention facilities in Syria, where tens of thousands of people accused of affiliation with Islamic State, also known as Isis, have been held. The sites include “closed” camps, mostly for women and children, and so-called rehabilitation centers for boys authorities say are at risk of becoming the “next generation” of Islamic State. Prof. Ní Aoláin, the former U.N. special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, said of the prisons, “Northeast Syria is like Guantánamo on steroids. It’s a place of absolute lawlessness because there’s no legal framework justifying [imprisoning] these men, whatever they are alleged to have done.”