International [ISIS Repatriation] Yazidis plead with Canada not to repatriate ISIS members

[...El Ray]

I would think the appropriate response to an ISIS fighter wanting to come back to (X) country should be "Get fucked". Trudeau is a special breed, apparently.

 

[Arkain2K]

I would think the appropriate response to an ISIS fighter wanting to come back to (X) country should be "Get fucked". Trudeau is a special breed, apparently.

What does that say for those who are still applauding his ISIS policy?

 

[Arkain2K]

Canada in political bind over whether to bring alleged ISIS fighters like 'Jihadi Jack' home
CBC Radio · October 23, 2018

The case of Jack Letts, a young British-Canadian man dubbed "Jihadi Jack" by British media, has sparked a contentious debate about the Canadian government's role and responsibilities when a citizen is accused of terrorism, according to counter-terrorism experts.

Letts is one of several Canadians being held by Kurdish authorities in Syria following the collapse of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2017. Letts, a Muslim convert, grew up in Oxford and went to Iraq and Syria in 2014.

As CBC News first reported in February the Canadian government has been trying to negotiate his release.

The Trudeau government will likely tread very lightly over such a politically fraught topic, according to former CSIS strategic analyst Phil Gurski.

"We have a government that has been burned very badly recently, with respect to terrorism cases. Omar Khadr did not go over well with the Canadian public. Joshua Boyle did not go over well with the Canadian public," he told The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti.

"You have a government, I think, that's a little bit leery of making these efforts to bring these people back, irrespective of their obligations under the Charter or under Canadian law."

Sally Lane and John Letts, parents of Jack Letts, arrive at the Old Bailey court in central London on Jan.12, 2017​

John Letts, Jack's Canadian-born father, reiterated that to his knowledge, his son has never been charged with terrorism, despite accusations he became affiliated with ISIS.

"Even Global Affairs Canada has told us that as far as they're aware, he's never been charged. He's certainly not been charged in Britain. In fact, the police here have consistently said, 'We just want to talk to him," he said.

Last week, he accused Andrew Scheer of lying about his son after the Conservative leader characterized the younger Letts as "British terrorist Jihadi Jack" in question period.

"There's no evidence for that. I'd love for him to produce it, and if he does have any evidence, I think he should hand that to the security services," the elder Letts told Tremonti.

"As far as we're aware, and our lawyers are aware, there's absolutely no information about that."

When asked whether Global Affairs Canada is working to secure Letts's release, the department said: "Canadian diplomats have established a communications channel with local Kurdish authorities in order to verify the whereabouts and well-being of Canadian citizens."

It added that due to the security situation, "the government of Canada's ability to provide consular assistance in any part of Syria is extremely limited."

In February, CBC News obtained audio recordings and text transcripts of Jack Letts's conversations with Canadian consular officials, who stopped short of giving him any direct assurances they'll be able to free him.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale declined an interview with The Current, but his office said in a statement that "reports of an agreement concerning the repatriation of Canadian citizens from Syria are false." The office did not provide further details, citing privacy and security reasons.

'Absolute right' to return to Canada

Lorne Dawson, a University of Waterloo sociology professor and director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, said that as the son of a Canadian-born citizen, Letts has "an absolute right" to return to Canada.

"There's almost nothing the government can do about that," he said.

Dawson added that due to the lack of clear information about Letts's situation, it might be a good idea "to get him out of there, so that a proper investigation can happen."

Gurski suspects that CSIS and its international partners are likely to be "actively gathering evidence and more intelligence" to build a strong case that would determine whether Letts indeed joined or fought with ISIS.

Dawson noted that if Letts or any other Canadian detained overseas on accusations of terrorism are brought to stand trial in Canada, it will be difficult to gather enough strong evidence to convict them.

"A good defence lawyer would run roughshod over the case," he said.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent...s-like-jihadi-jack-home-experts-say-1.4874330

 

[original doom]

Canada has 'a legal obligation' to repatriate citizens who left to fight for ISIS, says UN rapporteur
At least 13 Canadians are being held in Syria following the collapse of the Islamic State in 2017

​

A UN official says it's time for Ottawa to stop dragging its heels and repatriate its citizens who fought for the Islamic State (ISIS) and are now being held in Syria and Iraq.

Several Canadians are currently being held by Kurdish authorities in Syria, following the collapse of ISIS in 2017.

So far, the federal government has said it has no obligation to repatriate them, and that it is ill-equipped to put them on trial.

Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, says the opposite. She spoke to As It Happens host Carol Off. Here is part of their conversation.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappen...o-fight-for-isis-says-un-rapporteur-1.4884562

smug bitch.

 

[Bargey]

What does that say for those who are still applauding his ISIS policy?

Is there anyone out there that doesn’t want to punch him in the head?

 

[Fazz]

Canada in political bind over whether to bring alleged ISIS fighters like 'Jihadi Jack' home
CBC Radio · October 23, 2018

The case of Jack Letts, a young British-Canadian man dubbed "Jihadi Jack" by British media, has sparked a contentious debate about the Canadian government's role and responsibilities when a citizen is accused of terrorism, according to counter-terrorism experts.

Letts is one of several Canadians being held by Kurdish authorities in Syria following the collapse of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2017. Letts, a Muslim convert, grew up in Oxford and went to Iraq and Syria in 2014.

As CBC News first reported in February the Canadian government has been trying to negotiate his release.

The Trudeau government will likely tread very lightly over such a politically fraught topic, according to former CSIS strategic analyst Phil Gurski.

"We have a government that has been burned very badly recently, with respect to terrorism cases. Omar Khadr did not go over well with the Canadian public. Joshua Boyle did not go over well with the Canadian public," he told The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti.

"You have a government, I think, that's a little bit leery of making these efforts to bring these people back, irrespective of their obligations under the Charter or under Canadian law."

Sally Lane and John Letts, parents of Jack Letts, arrive at the Old Bailey court in central London on Jan.12, 2017​

John Letts, Jack's Canadian-born father, reiterated that to his knowledge, his son has never been charged with terrorism, despite accusations he became affiliated with ISIS.

"Even Global Affairs Canada has told us that as far as they're aware, he's never been charged. He's certainly not been charged in Britain. In fact, the police here have consistently said, 'We just want to talk to him," he said.

Last week, he accused Andrew Scheer of lying about his son after the Conservative leader characterized the younger Letts as "British terrorist Jihadi Jack" in question period.

"There's no evidence for that. I'd love for him to produce it, and if he does have any evidence, I think he should hand that to the security services," the elder Letts told Tremonti.

"As far as we're aware, and our lawyers are aware, there's absolutely no information about that."

When asked whether Global Affairs Canada is working to secure Letts's release, the department said: "Canadian diplomats have established a communications channel with local Kurdish authorities in order to verify the whereabouts and well-being of Canadian citizens."

It added that due to the security situation, "the government of Canada's ability to provide consular assistance in any part of Syria is extremely limited."

In February, CBC News obtained audio recordings and text transcripts of Jack Letts's conversations with Canadian consular officials, who stopped short of giving him any direct assurances they'll be able to free him.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale declined an interview with The Current, but his office said in a statement that "reports of an agreement concerning the repatriation of Canadian citizens from Syria are false." The office did not provide further details, citing privacy and security reasons.

'Absolute right' to return to Canada

Lorne Dawson, a University of Waterloo sociology professor and director of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, said that as the son of a Canadian-born citizen, Letts has "an absolute right" to return to Canada.

"There's almost nothing the government can do about that," he said.

Dawson added that due to the lack of clear information about Letts's situation, it might be a good idea "to get him out of there, so that a proper investigation can happen."

Gurski suspects that CSIS and its international partners are likely to be "actively gathering evidence and more intelligence" to build a strong case that would determine whether Letts indeed joined or fought with ISIS.

Dawson noted that if Letts or any other Canadian detained overseas on accusations of terrorism are brought to stand trial in Canada, it will be difficult to gather enough strong evidence to convict them.

"A good defence lawyer would run roughshod over the case," he said.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent...s-like-jihadi-jack-home-experts-say-1.4874330

Has it ever been proven that ‘Jihadi Jack’ was an actual ISIS fighter?

He always denied being one back when most foreign fighters were boasting of fighting for ISIS. I’m sure he also had anti-ISIS tweets claiming he despised the group or words to that effect.

 

[Arkain2K]

France scrambles to move French ISIS detainees out of Syria ahead of U.S. withdrawal
French officials are "deeply worried" about what will happen once American forces leave.
By Mac William Bishop | Jan. 29, 2019​

France is accelerating plans to end its military commitment in Syria and is considering airlifting captured foreign ISIS fighters out of the country, fearing that the precipitous American withdrawal of forces from the battlefield will leave liberated areas unstable and make it impossible to contain the prisoners.

In the wake of President Donald Trump’s sudden announcement in December that he was pulling American forces out of Syria, a senior French official tells NBC News the country is scrambling to adjust its military posture in anticipation of a power vacuum in northeastern Syria as it carries on fighting against the Islamic State. Of critical concern to French military planners is implementing a plan to deal with captured ISIS fighters and get them to get of the country before a U.S. withdrawal.

In an interview with French television BFMTV Tuesday, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said he “couldn’t mention specifics” when asked if France was planning to transfer as many as 130 ISIS fighters to French soil.

Although France’s President Emmanuel Macron lambasted Trump for his decision last month to withdraw from Syria, French officials have been publicly cautious in commenting on how the withdrawal will affect their operations against the former caliphate.

But behind the scenes, they are dismayed and “deeply worried.”

“American troops have made it clear that they are pulling out and that they received no warning in advance,” the French official said. “Since then, we’ve been working around the clock to plan for this American pull-out and how it will affect French military operations in Syria.”

More than 3,200 French military personnel have operated in Syria as part of Operation Chammal, the French campaign against ISIS. French special operations forces work closely with American, British and other allied units in both Syria and Iraq.

The French government announced two weeks ago it is committed to keeping troops in Syria and Iraq for the rest of the year, but the senior official admitted France does not think it can maintain a sustained military presence in the country without U.S. support. The official said France was in “close communication” with Washington about how to proceed.

One of the key concerns for France and other countries are the hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign nationals who flocked to the Islamic State and fought on its behalf. Hundreds of such foreign nationals have been captured on the battlefield by the U.S. and its allies, including France.

What to do with these detainees and returning fighters, or “retournees” as they are known in French, has been a central preoccupation of French counterterror officials.

Of the 22 successful terror attacks in France since 2012, 97 percent were carried out by individuals known to have been radicalized, or otherwise known to police, according to Olivier Guitta, the managing director of GlobalStrat, a risk management firm that studies terrorism. Many of these have been retournees.

“Syrian Democratic Forces are currently holding foreign terrorist fighters, including French nationals, in northeastern Syria,” said Agnès Von Der Mühll, a foreign ministry spokesperson. She would not confirm the number of detainees, however, adding that in light of “American decisions,” the French government was “exploring all options in order to prevent these potentially dangerous individuals from escaping or dispersing.”

The French interior minister said that all of the detainees will be charged upon arrival on French soil. The minister said that each detainee would be charged individually depending on the evidence of crimes they are alleged to have committed — including murder, kidnapping and torture. Previously, prosecutors have successfully convicted some French ISIS members of “association with criminal terrorist activity.”

Although the bulk of the captured fighters are believed to be French nationals, many have yet to be positively identified and have only provided “noms de guerre,” or aliases.

Law enforcement agencies from around the world have been working to share information about captured fighters and terror suspects, often through Interpol, the global law enforcement organization that is headquartered in France.

Interpol has been central to coordinating global efforts to combat terrorism, and now maintains and disseminates a database of 40,000 profiles of “Foreign Terrorist Fighters,” up from just 13 in 2012.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna963916

 

[Stoic1]

Well, how did ISIS deal with their prisoners when they had to withdraw?

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Ornife]

Returning ISIS fighters should be given full pensions as thanks for their brave service against Western imperialism.

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Ayin]

It will be interesting to see what Canada does. As i’m sure the french are aware, if normal standards of proof are required for conviction and charges like “Treason” aren’t on the table, they’ll be looking at, what? A hundred? Hundreds? Of French citizens that will at best be able to be sentenced to short prison terms for vague offences.

In prison they are hardly likely to be “de-radicalized”, and are probably more likely to go back to being strong in the faith, so-to-say, and then released.

In Canada we don’t have the prison radicalization issue as the overwhelmingly over-represented group here are people with pre-European discovery American ancestry, but we’re also much less likely to convict anyone of anything. Which is likely why our government is trying to “prioritize” people who they are confident can be convicted of crimes.

Still. I’ll be shocked if Canada leaves any “Canadian” behind for after the USA leaves.

 

[Arkain2K]

Shamima Begum, British Woman Who Joined ISIS in Syria, Wants to Come Home
By Benjamin Mueller | Feb. 14, 2019

​

LONDON — A 19-year-old woman who left Britain in 2015 to join the Islamic State and who says she is nine months pregnant has told a reporter that she fled the last remaining village held by the terrorist group in Syria and wanted to return home.

But the woman, Shamima Begum, faces an uncertain future, with no clear answers about how she would get home to east London, or about whether Britain would try to prosecute her for terrorist offenses if she did.

Speaking to a reporter for The Times of London in Al Hawl refugee camp in northeastern Syria, Ms. Begum said she had left the village of Baghuz, the last speck of land under Islamic State control in Iraq and Syria, as Kurdish-led forces allied with the United States closed in. Her Dutch husband, an Islamic State fighter whom she married soon after arriving in Raqqa, Syria, surrendered to Syrian fighters allied to the Kurdish-led forces.

Ms. Begum said that she had lost two children — an 8-month-old son and a daughter who was nearly 2 — to illness and malnutrition in recent months, and that she feared for her unborn child.

“I was weak,” she said. “I could not endure the suffering and hardship that staying on the battlefield involved. But I was also frightened that the child I am about to give birth to would die like my other children if I stayed on. So I fled the caliphate. Now all I want to do is come home to Britain.”

But Ms. Begum said she did not regret traveling to Syria.

“When I saw my first severed head in a bin it didn’t faze me at all,” she told The Times of London. “It was from a captured fighter seized on the battlefield, an enemy of Islam. I thought only of what he would have done to a Muslim woman if he had the chance.”

Ms. Begum drew headlines in 2015 when she and two classmates from Bethnal Green in east London flew to Turkey from Gatwick Airport and then boarded a bus to the Syrian border. Known as the Bethnal Green girls, they became the face of young women attracted to what experts described as a jihadist girl-power subculture.

Barred from combat, the young women supported the group’s state-building efforts as wives, mothers, recruiters and sometimes online cheerleaders for violence.

British police officials said in 2015 that the women would be allowed to return home without facing charges because there was no evidence they had committed terrorism offenses, and a lawyer who represented Ms. Begum’s family urged the authorities this week to honor that promise.

But Ben Wallace, Britain’s security minister, said on Thursday that British officials would not help rescue Ms. Begum because it was too dangerous to provide consular services in Syria. And he warned that anyone who had traveled to support terrorism against the British government’s advice would, upon returning, be “questioned, investigated and potentially prosecuted for committing terrorist offenses.”

Thousands of people have been streaming out of the Islamic State’s fast-shrinking territory in recent weeks. The group once ruled an area the size of Britain, but that is now all but gone.

“The caliphate is over,” Ms. Begum said. “There was so much oppression and corruption that I don’t think they deserved victory.”

She said she had read what people in Britain thought of her, but was intent on returning home.

“I’ll do anything required just to be able to come home and live quietly with my child,” she said.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/world/europe/uk-isis-shamima-begum.html

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Arkain2K]

British ISIS bride who wants to return to UK gives birth to boy
By Bianca Britton | February 18, 2019

​

A British teenager who left the UK to join ISIS in 2015 and now hopes to return home, has given birth, her family's lawyer said Sunday.

Shamima Begum, who was 15 at the time, left London's Gatwick Airport with two of her classmates and traveled to Syria.

Mohammed Akunjee said in a statement that Shamima Begum, now 19, had given birth to a boy and that both are believed to be in "good health."



Speaking to Sky News from the camp and hours after giving birth, Begum said she was aware of ISIS beheadings and other brutality before she left to join the group, and was "OK" with it.

"Yeah I knew about those things and I was OK with it. I started becoming religious just before I left. From what I heard, Islamically that is all allowed so I was OK with it," Begum told Sky News.

However Begum, who married an ISIS fighter, she was only a housewife during her time in Syria: "I never did anything dangerous, I never made propaganda, I never encouraged people to come to Syria," she said.

Begum added that people should have sympathy towards her because she "didn't know" what she was getting into, but says she doesn't regret her decision.

"In a way yes, but I don't regret it because it's changed me as a person, it's made me stronger, tougher. I married my husband, I wouldn't have found someone like him back in the UK, I had my kids." Begum said.

"I did have a good time there, it's just that in the end things got hard and I couldn't take it anymore, I had to leave."

Begum made headlines earlier this week, on February 13, when she was found in a refugee camp in northern Syria by UK newspaper The Times.

The paper revealed she was nine months' pregnant and that she wanted to come home to have her child. She said she had two other children during her time in Syria, who died in infancy from malnutrition and illness.

Begum said she had no regrets about traveling to Syria, but told the paper that "the caliphate is over."
"They're just getting smaller and smaller and there's so much oppression and corruption going on that I don't really think they deserve victory," she said.

Should Begum be allowed to return?

London schoolgirls Shamima Begum, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase boarded a Turkish Airlines plane from London's Gatwick Airport to Istanbul on February 17, 2015​

Begum's pleas to return to the UK quickly spurred debate across the country.

Haras Rafiq, who was previously part of the government's task force looking at countering extremism, told Britain's Press Association that he understands why citizens are concerned about Begum returning, but the "intellectual and right thing to do" was for her to face the UK's justice system.

He added that it will be a challenge to deradicalize her because "at this moment in time, (she) is not somebody who thinks she needs to be."

"What we can say is right now ... she doesn't show any remorse or regret and isn't fazed by decapitated heads and bombs all around her, because she thought that was a normal life. Therein lies the problem," said Rafiq, who is now CEO of the counter-extremism organization Quilliam.

Meanwhile, UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid said he "will not hesitate" to prevent the return of those who have joined terror organizations like ISIS.

"My message is clear: if you have supported terrorist organizations abroad I will not hesitate to prevent your return," he said.

"We have a range of tough measures to stop people who pose a serious threat from returning to the UK, including depriving them of their British citizenship or excluding them from the UK."

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/02/17/uk/shamima-begum-london-teenager-isis-bride-gbr-intl/index.html

 

[Arkain2K]

 

[Arkain2K]

Shamima Begum stripped of British citizenship after showing no remorse for fleeing to wed IS fighter
After a disastrous interview where the teen jihadi struggled to show remorse, Shamima Begum has been dealt a painful blow.
By Jon Lockett | February 20, 2019

Islamic State bride Shamima Begum has been stripped of her British citizenship after showing no remorse for joining up with the terror group.

An official Home Office letter breaking the shock news was delivered to the teen’s “disappointed” family earlier today, The Sun reported.

“Please find enclosed papers that relate to a decision taken by the Home Secretary, to deprive your daughter, Shamima Begum, of her British citizenship,” the letter read.

“In light of the circumstances of your daughter, the notice of the Home Secretary’s decision has been served of file today (19th February), and the order removing her British citizenship has subsequently been made.”

The letter — obtained by ITV News — went on to urge the Begum family to make their daughter aware of the decision while adding she had the right to appeal.

The schoolgirl’s family have said they are “disappointed” by the Home Office’s decision, said their lawyer Tasnime Akunjee.

“We are considering all legal avenues to challenge this decision,” he tweeted.

The Home Office has declined to comment further on the letter.

Begum’s dual nationality — as both her parents are of Bangladeshi — reportedly cleared the way for today’s decision.

If she didn’t have any other nationality than British she would have been left “stateless”.

ARREST THREAT

It was reported that Begum could be questioned and arrested if she returned to the UK.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said the teenager would be spoken to by counter-terror officers if she were to return to the UK from Syria.

“If she does … arrive at our borders somebody in her type of circumstances could expect, of course, to be spoken to and if there is the appropriate necessity, to be potentially arrested and certainly investigated,” she said.

“If that results in sufficient evidence for a prosecution then it will result in sufficient evidence for a prosecution.

“The officers will deal with whatever they are confronted with.”

The former British schoolgirl fled from her home in Bethnal Green, East London, as a 15-year-old to join Islamic State in 2015.

She has this week pleaded to be allowed to return home after giving birth to a baby boy.

“I actually do support some British values and I am willing to go back to the UK and settle back again and rehabilitate and that stuff,” Ms Begum said in a BBC interview.

“The poster girl thing was not my choice,” she added, of how she was used within the terrorist group as a tool for recruitment.

ARENA OUTRAGE

However she also said the murder of 22 music fans in the Manchester Arena suicide bombing was “fair justification” for air raids on IS in Syria.

Showing no remorse, the 19-year-old dismissed the atrocity at the 2017 Ariana Grande concert as “retaliation”.

She left London in February 2015 with two school friends to follow another classmate to Syria.

She said one friend, Kadiza Sultana, had died in an air strike but the other Bethnal Green girls, Amira Abase and Sharmeena Begum, had stayed with IS in Baghuz.

She said she feared she will never see her husband, the Dutch jihadist Yago Riedijk again, whom she still loved “very much”.

Riedijk, 26, a convert to Islam who grew up in a middle-class family home in Arnhem, is suspected by police of being involved in a terrorist plot in the Netherlands.

He was convicted in his absence last year of membership of a terrorist group.

WHY AND HOW WAS SHAMIMA BEGUM STRIPPED OF HER BRITISH CITIZENSHIP?

The Home Secretary’s power to deprive someone of their British citizenship is covered by Section 40 British Nationality Act 1981.

It states the Home Sec must be satisfied “it would be conducive to the public good to deprive person of his or her British nationality”.

The official regulations add “that s/he would not become stateless as a result of the deprivation”.

Home Office guidance states that “Conduciveness to the Public Good” means “depriving in the public interest on the grounds of involvement in terrorism, espionage, serious organised crime, war crimes or unacceptable behaviours”.

If Shamima Begum decides to appeal the decision to impose deprivation of citizenship order she has 28 days to appeal to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

https://www.news.com.au/world/middl...r/news-story/020bf098734d1089560149cfc2cbc35b

 

[Arkain2K]