Although Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean Asselborn stated the government would have difficulties to pursue the investigation, the public prosecutor's office put out an international arrest warrant against Duarte in 2016. Is the current stance that a Luxembourg-led investigation against Duarte would be difficult not contradictory, given the existence of the arrest warrant?
RTL's Petz Bartz spoke to an expert in international criminal law to discuss the situation and form a hypothesis.
The public prosecutor's office released the arrest warrant in 2016 following the publication of the execution video in Mosul, Iraq. The Portuguese secret service, anti-terrorism unit, and police investigating the case are overwhelmingly convinced that Duarte is depicted in the video.
It appears that the Iraqi legal authorities' investigation is also following the lead that Duarte is depicted in the video. The execution, one of many committed by the Islamic State, is proven to have taken place on Iraqi territory, namely in Mosul in January 2016. A further piece of evidence is the fact that Tarik Jadaoun, a Belgian jihadist, is imprisoned in Baghdad and a key witness, who has previously mentioned Duarte in interrogations and identified him as heavily involved in the Islamic State.
IS membership along is sufficient to be sentenced to death in Baghdad's anti-terrorism court, located in the so-called green zone by the Tigris. The court will issue death sentences regardless of whether a corpse was found or the defendant fought for the Islamic State or cooked for the caliphate. More than 3,000 IS terrorists have been sentenced to death, but have yet to have been executed. Human rights activists also suspect that prisoners have been tortured.
What exactly the Luxembourgish government and legal authorities' position is, remains a puzzle. However, either way, if Duarte was sentenced in Baghdad, the Portuguese would be charged with the consular developments, as Duarte only holds a Portuguese passport.
Regardless, Duarte is detained in a Syrian prison, not in Iraq. The Kurds see extraditing individuals to Baghdad as an utter taboo. The Kurds gave Iraq thirteen Frenchman at the beginning of the year, but have since regretted the decision. The Kurdish courts, for their part, do not try foreign jihadists.
The University of Luxembourg's Professor Stefan Braum, international criminal law expert, explained that assailants must be tried purely out of respect to the victims of terrorism. He added that constitutional states must offer justice in order to keep their credibility. Braum pointed out that keeping children and family members in detention camps is also not a constructive solution, as support for jihad could continue to grow in these conditions, exacerbating the problem.
From Meispelt to Jihad: Exclusive interview with suspected jihadist Steve Duarte
