"Suspects are tried under a law that makes no distinction between a person who “assists terrorists” and one who commits violent crimes on behalf of an extremist group. The conviction rate is around ninety-eight per cent. Family members of the accused rarely show up to watch the hearings, out of fear that they will be detained, too. It’s not uncommon for relatives to be rounded up by the security forces and sent to remote desert camps, where they are denied food, medical services, and access to documents. “We’re deleting thousands of families from Iraqi society,” the official told me. “This is not just revenge on ISIS. This is revenge on Sunnis.”"

Mr Taub's excellent article draws attention to two other researchers and their output:

Belkis Wille, Human Rights Iraq’s So-Called “ISIS Families”: Rounded up, Vilified, Forgotten, Human Rights Watch

Mara Revkin, 'The Limits of Punishment' [PDF report from UNU-CPR]

The article, incidentally, also includes a reference to divorce by phone.

Tags: Radicalisation, 'Islamic State', Iraq, Prosecutions, Shi'ism, Sunni