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Turkey to send foreign IS jihadists home from Monday: minister
ISTANBUL, Nov 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Turkey will start sending foreign
jihadists back to their home countries next week, Interior Minister Suleyman
Soylu told state news agency Anadolu on Friday.
“Now we are telling you that we are going to send them back to you. We are
starting this on Monday,” Soylu said, referring to members of the Islamic
State group (IS). Earlier this week, Soylu said Turkey had nearly 1,200
foreign members of IS in custody, and had captured 287 during its recent
operation in northern Syria.
Turkey has criticised Western countries for refusing to repatriate their
citizens who left to join IS in Syria and Iraq, and stripping some of them of
their citizenship.
It remains unclear whether Turkey will be able to repatriate those who
have lost their citizenship.
Although under the New York Convention of 1961, it is illegal to leave
someone stateless, several countries, including Britain and France, have not
ratified it, and recent cases have triggered prolonged legal battles.
Britain has stripped more than 100 people of their citizenship for
allegedly joining jihadist groups abroad.
High-profile cases such as teenage IS recruit Shamima Begum, and another
alleged recruit Jack Letts, have sparked court proceedings and fierce
political debate in Britain.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1932 hrs