Over the past few months, the team has established a network of trusted sources spanning Europe and the Middle East. This includes survivors of ISIS atrocities, anti-ISIS activists, investigators, human rights advocates, and intelligence and law enforcement sources from around the world. The team has conducted field reporting in Iraq and Syria, visiting mass crime sites and genocide locations. They have interviewed victims and officials, and documented conditions inside Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps in Syria, where female ISIS members and their families are held.
The cross-border investigative team was able to secure a rare access to extensive ISIS archives intended for internal use. These unseen documents reveal the sophisticated internal bureaucracy of the terrorist organisation and shed a new light on the so-called Islamic State and revealing the identities of its members. This will form the basis of the team's next investigative phase.
This work has already resulted in two interim publications: a radio report from inside Syria’s Al-Hol camp describing the ongoing radicalisation of women and children affiliated with ISIS, and an exclusive interview with Iraq’s leading ISIS prosecutor. He expressed concerns about European inaction despite passing detailed files to EU authorities.
data that they have obtained. This analysis has the potential to identify individual suspects and trace accountability networks that cross borders. The investigation will continue with the aim of revealing how Europe is handling the aftermath of ISIS and what justice means in the shadow of the caliphate.
Key findings so far include
- Evidence suggesting that a number of individuals listed in ISIS databases have resettled in Europe and may be living under new identities.
- Testimony from survivors identifying alleged perpetrators who left the region and now reside in Europe.
- Detailed files and internal documents provided by Iraqi authorities that, according to the officials interviewed, Europe has not acted upon.
- Observations from Al-Hol and Al-Roj camps indicating that radical networks remain active and with many of those women and adolescents continuing to express support for ISIS.
- Indications of structural gaps between Middle Eastern and European legal standards that hinder the prosecution or deportation of suspected ISIS members.
Photo: A self-made toy gun found in the Al-Hol camp in Syria, where radical ISIS women are being held. Photographer: Maria Caroline Wölfle
