episode 37: Should citizens who went fighting for ISIS be allowed to return back to their home country?
What if they come back?
According to some experts there may be well over 10,000 Europeans fighting in terrorist organizations such as ISIS and we hear every once in a while stories about teenagers who leave the country to join a holy war.
Sometimes these wars end, some of these fighters have a change of heart, some of them are captured. The question then becomes: Should we take them back, do they have a right to return into their home countries?
This time Dirk took a hard position and argued against that idea while Sebastian made a case that it may not even be a choice but a necessity. Let us know what you think after listening to our arguments.
The topic of course has many facets and not all terrorists are made equal. Here are more resources to dig deeper into the motion:
- [Text] University of Strasbourg – Returning terrorist fighters in Europe, a comparative Analysis
- [Text] Egmont, royal society of international relations – Returnees. Who are they, why are they (not) coming back and how should we deal with them?
- [Text] ICCT International Center for Counter Terrorism – The Foreign Fighters Phenomenon in the EU – Profiles, Threats & Policies
- [Podcast] The Guardian – The myth of the ‘lone wolf’ terrorist
- [Podcast] CBC Radio – What should Canada do with foreign fighters who return home?
Picture source: Pixabay, CC0