What Will Become of Zebo and Other Kyrgyz Women Held in Iraqi Prisons?

Relatives of Kyrgyz citizens held in Iraqi prisons are intensifying calls for their government to secure the return of women and other family members detained on charges related to the Islamic State (ISIS). The appeals have gained new urgency after Iraq’s Ministry of Justice said in August it was considering the transfer of nearly 6,000 foreign detainees, many held on terrorism-related accusations, back to their countries of origin.

One of the families pressing for action is that of 70-year-old Kamoliddin Tesheboev, who says his life was upended after three of his sons left Kyrgyzstan to join ISIS. According to Tesheboev, all three sons and three grandchildren were killed in Syria. Two of his daughters-in-law and other relatives who went to live under ISIS rule were subsequently detained and, in some cases, jailed in Iraq.

Tesheboev told Radio Ozodi that he is grateful the Kyrgyz government managed to bring back some of his grandchildren — 13 surviving grandchildren were among 79 children of Kyrgyz ISIS members repatriated to Bishkek in 2021 as part of a humanitarian operation. But he said other members of his family remain behind bars in Iraq. "Now I am alone, but I thank the president and the government who returned my grandchildren. They have grown up and two of them were recently married," he said.

Families of detainees have staged gatherings to press authorities for help. On September 14, dozens of relatives assembled outside the office of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, demanding the government act to bring home loved ones still incarcerated in Iraq. Those relatives say many of the detainees are women who traveled to Iraq and Syria during the rise of ISIS and were later prosecuted under Iraqi anti-terrorism laws.

One high-profile case highlighted by relatives is that of 41-year-old Zebo Aliyeva. Her mother, Rahima Niyozova, says Aliyeva was working in Turkey in 2015 when her husband, whom relatives say was an ISIS member, compelled her to travel to Iraq. Niyozova, who now cares for four of her daughter's children who were returned to Kyrgyzstan in 2021, described the toll the situation has taken on her health: "I have so much pain. Imagine, a mother's child is in prison. I suffer from diabetes and heart disease," she said. She added that when her daughter was detained, the youngest child was only eight months old; that child is now nine years old.

Kyrgyz authorities say there are currently 41 of their citizens detained in Iraqi prisons, most of them wives or relatives of ISIS fighters. The Iraqi Justice Ministry's announcement in August that it was reviewing the transfer of thousands of foreign detainees raised hopes among families that new repatriation could be possible. Central Asian governments, including Kyrgyzstan, have in the past coordinated with local authorities in Syria and Iraq as well as with international organizations to repatriate women and children. In 2021, Kyrgyzstan repatriated dozens of children from camps and detention facilities.

Radio Ozodi and other outlets note they were unable to independently verify the full details of every individual case described by relatives. As of the time of this report, Kyrgyz government officials had not publicly responded to the fresh requests from families seeking help to retrieve relatives held in Iraq.

The cases raise persistent legal and human-rights dilemmas for countries across Central Asia and Europe: how to balance security concerns and accountability for individuals accused of links to extremist groups, while addressing the humanitarian and legal needs of citizens — particularly women and children — who ended up in conflict zones. For families such as Tesheboev’s and Niyozova’s, the question remains acute: will their relatives be allowed to return home to face their legal fate under Kyrgyz law, or will they remain detained in Iraq as Baghdad deliberates the fate of thousands of foreign suspects?

The outcome could have broad implications for repatriation policies across the region and for how governments reconcile domestic security objectives with international human-rights obligations toward their citizens detained abroad. Meanwhile, relatives continue to press for clear answers and expedited action from Bishkek.