EU countries reject Trump’s call to repatriate Syria jihadists

Ahmed Lamlom

US President Donald Trump has threatened to release “thousands” of Daesh fighters held in Syria “to Europe” if their countries do not take back their citizens who went to join the terror group.

Trump appeared to conflate the European fighters with Isis members from other countries in his comments on Thursday, claiming there were “2,500 Daesh fighters that we want Europe to take, because they were going back into Europe, into France, into Germany, into various places.”

Germany’s foreign minister Heiko Maas addressed some of the complications involved in returning Daesh fighters to the country.

Maas noted that trials would be “extremely difficult to realize” largely due to the absence of “judicial information.” As a result, he added, prisoners should only be brought back to Germany if it was certain that they would face trial.

Trump has threatened to release European Isis fighters held in Syria. Back in February, when the Isis caliphate was close to collapse, he called on “Britain, France, Germany and other European allies to take back over 800 Isis fighters that we captured in Syria and put them on trial.”

France further said it would take back militants on a “case by case” basis but would not comply with US president Donald Trump’s call at the weekend for European fighters to be repatriated immediately.

Nicole Belloubet, French justice minister, told France 2 television: “At this stage France is not responding to Trump’s demands.”

London has taken a hard line on the case of Begum. Sajid Javid, UK home secretary, has said he will “not hesitate” to prevent the return of British nationals who have supported terrorist organizations abroad.

“If you do manage to return you should be ready to be questioned, investigated and potentially prosecuted,” Javid said.

Stig Jarle Hansen, associate professor and leader of the international relations program at the Norwegian University of Life Science and one of the world’s leading experts on Islamism, expresses doubts that any European state will act on Donald Trump’s request.

According to Hansen, all parties are trying to solve the dilemma of those in Syria, but it is very complicated, especially since many of those who traveled to Syria and Iraq took with them children, minors and members of their families, who did not participate in any activity within the organization.

He further added that Trump seeks to reassure his voters that he has managed to do many things during his first term, and that he deserves their votes in the presidential election next year. He has made the United States a great country again, and his words grew much value and responsiveness by others.