Iraq's top judicial official visits Damascus for first formal judicial exchange with Syria

DAMASCUS, Syria — Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zeydan arrived in Damascus on Thursday for an official visit, marking the first formal judicial contact between Baghdad and Damascus. Zeydan and the accompanying Iraqi judicial delegation were received at Damascus International Airport by Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Waas and Foreign Ministry Adviser on Arab Affairs Muhammad Taha al-Ahmed. The talks focused on strengthening judicial cooperation and coordination between Iraq and Syria, according to the source. The agenda also covers the file of ISIS detainees transferred to Iraqi prisons in recent years, alongside transitional justice, transparency, anti-corruption efforts and other shared judicial cases between the two countries. The visit marks the highest-level judicial engagement between Baghdad and Damascus since the change of government in Syria, though the Iraqi source did not specify a date for any follow-up agreements. No further details on the duration of the visit or planned outcomes were immediately available.