Iraq has freed more than 41,300 detainees under the amended General Amnesty Law, the Supreme Judicial Council announced on Tuesday, and the move has saved roughly $67 million. The council said the total number of people released from prisons and detention centers reached 41,364 in January.
This mass release followed the 2014 ISIS takeover of large parts of Iraq. Authorities then arrested thousands for alleged links to the group. Many arrests occurred in Sunni-majority provinces. These included Anbar, Nineveh, and Salahaddin. Security forces faced intense pressure there.
The justice ministry said Iraq operates 30 prisons. These facilities hold about 67,000 inmates. Around 1,600 are foreign nationals. The figure does not include prisons in the Kurdistan Region.
It also excludes detainees held by security forces and armed groups. This gap makes the full scale of detentions difficult to track. Meanwhile, the Supreme Judicial Council said an Iraqi court opened investigations into nearly 1,400 ISIS suspects. They recently arrived from neighboring Syria. The council added that 166,283 suspects fall under the amnesty law.
This total includes those facing arrest or summons warrants, guarantors, and people convicted in absentia. In addition, the council reported that funds recovered through the law’s implementation exceeded 87.4 billion Iraqi dinars, equal to roughly $67 million, which reflects how much the state saved by reducing prison populations and legal costs. Iraq’s parliament amended the General Amnesty Law in January as part of a wider reform package. That package also updated the Personal Status Law and a property restitution law. Sunni Arab political parties have long pushed for the amnesty law, arguing that post-2003 anti-terror laws unfairly targeted their communities.
The amendment changed the definition of “affiliation with terrorist organizations,” which was a key demand for Sunni blocs to join the former ruling coalition. The amended bill took effect in mid-February, and it has since reshaped how courts handle suspected militants and political detainees. As a result, amnesty law releases continue to ease prison overcrowding and reduce financial strain.
Analysts say the move could also ease sectarian tensions, since many Sunnis view the law as a step toward fairer treatment. However, security officials warn that authorities must still monitor suspects closely to prevent renewed violence. In the meantime, amnesty law releases remain a major shift in Iraq’s legal and political landscape, and they highlight the government’s ongoing push for reconciliation. Observers now await further updates on the court cases tied to ISIS suspects, as well as how the new legal definitions will affect future arrests. For now, amnesty law releases signal a clear policy shift and a new chapter in Iraq’s post-ISIS recovery.
