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UK Faces Calls to Prosecute Returning ISIS Fighters
More than 400 individuals who previously fought with the so-called Islamic State (ISIS) group have returned to the UK, sparking concerns as they haven’t been prosecuted for potential crimes. A parliamentary committee is urging the government to take action against these returning ISIS fighters.
Calls for Justice for ISIS Crimes
The Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has asserted that former ISIS militants implicated in killings, terrorist acts, and the mistreatment of minorities in the Middle East must be brought to justice. The committee is recommending trials in British courts.
- ISIS once controlled significant territories in Syria and Iraq.
- The group perpetrated widespread campaigns of terror, murder, and rape.
- These atrocities frequently targeted religious minorities, including Yazidis and Shia Muslims.
Government Response and Committee Concerns
The government has previously stated that such offenses are ‘best investigated and prosecuted under local laws,’ according to the committee’s report. However, the JCHR members have countered that prosecutions in the countries where ISIS operated are unlikely to occur.
Ensuring Accountability in the UK
The JCHR emphasized the UK’s duty to investigate and prosecute international crimes over which it has jurisdiction, stating in their recent report: ‘Where the UK has jurisdiction over international crimes, the UK should seek to investigate and prosecute such crimes.’
Currently, prosecuting individuals for war crimes or genocide is only possible if they are UK nationals, residents, or subject to service personnel laws.
Legislative Amendments Proposed
The committee has urged ministers to utilize the ongoing Crime and Policing Bill to amend the existing legislation. Doing so would ensure that individuals suspected of war crimes or genocide can face justice within the UK. This move aims to close loopholes that currently prevent prosecutions of returning ISIS members.
Committee Chairman’s Statement
Lord Alton of Liverpool, chair of the JCHR, commented: ‘This is not something the UK can simply wash its hands of because it happened overseas. We know that British nationals committed the most horrendous crimes in Iraq and Syria under the Daesh regime, and we have a duty to see them brought to justice.’
He added: ‘To date, no Daesh fighters have been successfully prosecuted for international crimes in the UK, and we find this unacceptable. We want to see more action from the Government in identifying the perpetrators, some of whom may have returned to Britain, others likely detained in camps in Syria. This will require better co-ordination from law enforcement and criminal justice, and also the removal of barriers preventing some prosecutions.’
Transparency in Citizenship Deprivation Cases
The JCHR also highlighted the need for greater transparency in how the government utilizes its authority to revoke British citizenship from individuals linked to ISIS. This power, which has drawn considerable scrutiny, needs more public accountability, according to the committee.
The case of Shamima Begum, who traveled to ISIS territory as a minor, is a prominent example of the government’s use of this authority. The report noted that the UK employs citizenship deprivation orders more frequently than most nations and calls for ministers to be transparent in their implementation.
Repatriation of Children in Syrian Camps
The committee further pressed for increased efforts to repatriate children currently held in camps in northeastern Syria. Lord Alton described the conditions in these camps as ‘deplorable’ and stressed the urgent need to bring these children home.
He stated: ‘It is in the UK’s interest to ensure they do not become a new generation of the radicalised and they must be brought home.’
ISIS Atrocities Detailed
From 2014 to 2019, ISIS engaged in a violent crackdown on religious minority groups across territories they controlled in the Middle East.
In 2016, then-US Secretary of State John Kerry declared that the violence perpetrated by ISIS against Shia Muslims and other groups in Iraq and Syria constituted genocide.