Houri Juvenile Deradicalization Center

The Houri Juvenile Deradicalization Center (sometimes referred to as al-Houri or spelled "Houry") was a facility in Tal Marouf southeast of Qamishli in northeastern Syria for boys and young men 12 to 22 years old affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The program, which opened in 2017, aimed to rehabilitate ISIL's former child soldiers and reintegrate them into society.[1][2][3] The facility offered counseling and psychological supports.[4] However, there was no formal education available, and activities are limited to craft-making, music and sports. The facility was locked and heavily guarded.[5][6]

Boys living with their ISIL-supporting mothers in the Al-Roj refugee camp and Al-Hawl refugee camp were supposed to be sent to a deradicalization center when they turned 12; Al-Hawl's director said, "Those kids, once they reach the age of 12, they could become dangerous and could kill and beat up others. So we had a choice, which is to put them at rehabilitation centers and keep them away from the extreme ideology that their mothers carry." Pubescent boys were also sent away to protect them from sexual abuse and arranged child marriages,[7] as ISIL had issued a fatwa ordering women in the camps to reproduce.[8]

Women in Al-Roj and Al-Hawl claimed their sons had been "snatched" without warning,[6] something an administrator at Al-Roj denied; he said the mothers were notified in advance that their sons would be taken, and boys found to be under 12 who had been removed were returned to their mothers.[9] Some of the children were allowed to return to the camps for one week every month.[1] The associate director of the Crisis and Conflict Division at Human Rights Watch criticized places like the Houri Center, saying, "While the transfer of these boys to separate detention centers may be well-intentioned, this is not rehabilitation. This is indefinite detention without charge of children, who are themselves victims," and that separation from their families would cause the boys further trauma.[10] Syrian detainees' families are allowed to visit them, but the children of foreign nationals are rarely allowed contact with their families in the camps.[6]

As of 2024, the facility held about 100 boys and young men.[11] Although there were nationals of more than 35 countries represented among the detainees, as of 2021, only three boys from the Houri Center were known to have been repatriated.[12] Only Syrian detainees were ever charged, tried, or released.[13] Detainees who became too old to stay at Houri were transferred to adult prison after turning 23.[11][14] A staff member said, "Everything is undone when these states do not repatriate their children. We are managing to rehabilitate these boys, but then they are sent to prisons and get radicalized again."[12]

As of February 2026, Houri is "completely empty" and it's unclear where the detainees have been sent, whether to Iraq to other juvenile deradicalization centers.[15]

Notable inmates

Su-lay Su, who was 12 years old when he was brought from Trinidad and Tobago to Syria by his mother Gailon and stepfather Anthony Hamlet, came to Houri in 2019. His mother is in Al-Roj camp and he is in occasional touch with her and with his sister in Trinidad.[16] He was interviewed at Houri for the BBC podcast “Bloodlines”.[17] As of 2024, Su-lay was still at Houri, but at 22 he would soon be too old to stay there anymore.[11]

Alejandro Ahram Pérez, the son of Tomasa Pérez Molleja, who was 8 years old when his mother brought him and his siblings to Syria, was sent to Houri.[18]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 By (2023-09-15). "North East Syria Is Still Dealing With the World's Forgotten ISIS Problem". jacobin.com. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  2. ↑ Al Arabiya English (2019-04-15). The Children of ISIS - Hori Center. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via YouTube.
  3. ↑ serbest (2023-11-30). "ISIS children in NE Syria camps pose threat, require rehabilitation". North press agency. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  4. ↑ North Press Agency EN (2022-10-19). Houri Center for ISIS children. Retrieved 2026-05-19 – via YouTube.
  5. ↑ Rice, Clélia; Zinchiri, Silvia; Dhingra, Simran; Ito, Tomoe (June 14, 2024). "Detention of Children in Times of Conflict: Are Rehabilitation Centres Used as an Ideological Instrument and as such Further Violate Their Rights?" (PDF). Geneva Graduate Institute. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 "Revictimizing the Victims: Children Unlawfully Detained in Northeast Syria | Human Rights Watch". 2023-01-27. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  7. ↑ Press, Associated (2023-05-30). "Boys From Islamic State Families Undergo Rehabilitation in Syria, But Future Uncertain". Voice of America. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  8. ↑ Chapman, Lucas (June 26, 2023). "The Children of ISIS: KCS Reports from Roj Camp". The Kurdish Center for Studies. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  9. ↑ Chapman, Lucas (June 26, 2023). "The Children of ISIS: KCS Reports from Roj Camp". The Kurdish Center for Studies. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
  10. ↑ Press, Associated (2023-05-30). "Boys From Islamic State Families Undergo Rehabilitation in Syria, But Future Uncertain". Voice of America. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  11. 1 2 3 Jaafari, By Shirin (2024-04-29). "His stepfather took him to Syria in 2014. His ordeal had just begun". The World from PRX. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  12. 1 2 Eriksson, Beatrice (2021-09-02). "A Visit to Northeast Syria Shows the Urgency for Governments to Repatriate Their Citizens, Many of Them Children, to Thwart ISIS". Just Security. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  13. ↑ Hummel, Kristina (2026-04-28). "The Collapse of Indefinite Detention in Northeast Syria: Implications Seven Years Later for Syria and Beyond". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  14. ↑ Abdulrahim, Raja (2019-05-31). "Center in Syria Offers Rare Effort to Rehabilitate Young ISIS Recruits". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  15. ↑ Sancha, Natalia (February 19, 2026). "Un yihadista español, entre los 5.704 reos trasladados por Estados Unidos de Siria a Irak". El Pais. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  16. ↑ Ensor, Josie. "Child of the caliphate: Teenager pays for the sins of his Isil father". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2026-05-19.
  17. ↑ "BBC Audio | Bloodlines | Series 1 | 6. The Forgotten Children". BBC. Retrieved 2026-06-18.
  18. ↑ Sancha, Natalia (2026-02-19). "Un yihadista español, entre los 5.704 reos trasladados por Estados Unidos de Siria a Irak". El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-05-21.
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