Brussels court says Belgium has to repatriate an IS fighter and her two children from Syria within 75 days

This week, the magistrates of the Brussels court of first instance have ordered that the Belgian state has to make every possible effort to repatriate within 75 days a Belgian IS fighter and her two children from Syria. The information was confirmed by the lawyer of the woman, Mr. Nicolas Cohen.

The 23-year-old woman and her two children have been in the Kurdish camp of Al-Roj since February 2018 and want to return to Belgium. « According to the court, the children have the subjective right to protection by the Belgian state — mother and children have the right to be protected against inhuman and degrading treatment and they have the right to consular protection from the Belgian state,” Cohen said.

 

 

Recently, also the US ambassador in Brussels, Ronald Gidwitz, expressed himself on the topic. The diplomat stated that Belgium « must repatriate » its 50 terror fighters from Syria, for »security reasons ».

On the other hand, Sophie Wilmès announced that Belgium does not intend to repatriate the Belgian jihadists, freed from Kurdish prisons following the Turkish offensive in Syria. The MP Georges Dallemagne thinks this is a mistake. « The United States is right, we must repatriate the jihadists […] I think the ambassador is right. The question of repatriation is not humanitarian, it is a question of security », said to LN24.

« The Prime Minister repeats what has always been said, that the Belgian jihadists must be judged as close to the place where they committed their crimes, but we know that it is not possible. I spoke with Kurds, who told me ‘we have already fought on the ground, captured, detained your nationals. We do not intend to keep them for years, why should this threat affect our population? ».