As Isis falls, what will countries do with returning ‘ex-terrorists’?

One day four years ago, the United Kingdom woke up to the shocking news of three girls — Shamima Begum, Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase — arriving in Syria to join the Islamic State terrorist group.

It was not surprising that a heavily pregnant Begum, now 19, found little sympathy among Britons when, on February 16, she expressed her wish to return home. Sultana was killed in a US air strike months ago. Amira’s whereabouts are unknown.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid would hear none of Begum’s pleas. He told The Times: “People like Begum are full of hatred for our country. My message is clear: If you have supported terrorist organisations abroad, I won’t hesitate to prevent your return.”

Javid even revoked Begum’s British citizenship days later.

Right-leaning dailies and tabloids were more unsympathetic to the hundreds of British “terrorists” abroad.

“No regret, no remorse, no entry,” screamed The Sun. Social media was awash with condemnation, disdain, disbelief and bewilderment. A petition to to parliament calling for Begum to stay in Syria or go elsewhere has half a million signatures.

Some cool heads, however, attempted to argue out Begum’s case. Alex Younger, the head of the MI6 — the British foreign intelligence agency — was level-headed but not sympathetic to her plight. He said “jihadists” cannot be legally barred from returning to the UK, though they could be prosecuted.

The “jihadists” hold British passports and many have never been convicted of a crime. Begum’s brother-in-law Mohamed Rahman said he could not understand why everybody was angry with her “since she left the country when she was just 15”.

There have been reports of “hundreds” of young Kenyan men and women — some highly educated — taking the trip to Somalia, Syria, Iraq or Libya to join terrorist groups. Some leaders and relatives of the youth cite frustrations and poverty for the drastic decision. It is a hollow argument, though, considering that the perpetrator of the April 2, 2015 attack on Garissa University College that led to more than 145 deaths was from a fairly well-to-do family.

We are used to knee-jerk reactions whenever an attack occurs. Like Britain and other Western countries, Kenya is at a crossroads on what to do with returning terrorists.

During his time as Mombasa County commissioner and later Coast regional co-ordinator, Mr Nelson Marwa, now Labour principal secretary, kept blaming politicians for fuelling and funding terrorism though he never provided evidence.

In April 2015, Marwa said terrorists who surrender — including those returning from abroad — would be forgiven. No policy was formulated to that effect and few people, if any, including Marwa himself, know how many came forward.

But the outright forgiving of returning terrorists who have tasted battle and committed unimaginable crimes, as suggested by Begum’s relatives and family lawyer, is dangerous.

Begum has said joining ISIS hardened her, adding that she has no regrets about it. She talked of witnessing killings and seeing severed heads in bins.

After she gave birth to a baby boy a day after her plea, family lawyer Tashim Akunjee, in an interview with the BBC, urged the government and Britons to be compassionate. This is her third child since arriving in Syria; the first two died.

Abase’s father Hussen asked his compatriots to forgive the teens “for they knew not what they were doing and have learnt their lesson.”

The war against IS is drawing to a close in Syria. US President Donald Trump has asked countries whose nationals joined the group and are being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces to take them, else he orders their release. The US-backed SDF has 1,000 such people. Trump himself barred US-born ISIS propagandist Hoda Muthana, 24, from returning to Alabama.

Countries must brace themselves for an influx of ISIS returnees. Rehabilitation programmes involving education officials, social workers, moderate clerics, elders and security agents could do the trick in Kenya. However, the “reformed” terrorists should show remorse and, even after re-education, should be monitored.