Thousands in Custody, Hundreds in Germany’s Sights
According to the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, a significant number of German Islamists are residing abroad. It is reported that around 35% of the approximately 1,150 German Islamists who traveled to Syria and Iraq since 2011 are currently living outside of Germany. A substantial portion of these individuals, according to security agency knowledge, remain in the Syrian region.
Around 65% of the more than 1,000 individuals who left Germany have concrete indications that they have fought on behalf of the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” (IS), al-Qaida, or affiliated groups, as well as other terrorist organizations and have supported or supported these entities.
Reports from Kurdish authorities indicate that around 30 suspected ISIS supporters with German citizenship are currently being held in northern Syria. In total, several thousand suspected ISIS fighters from abroad are detained in prisons run by the Kurdish self-administration. The German government estimates a low to medium two-digit number of German nationals in custody in northeastern Syria.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior states that the repatriation of those in custody in northern Syria is not planned. Similarly, the German Foreign Office had previously expressed this stance.
Family members of ten German inmates have now addressed the German government in an open letter, urging the government to repatriate the men. “Our sons, brothers, or grandsons have radicalized in our German society. We all bear responsibility for this, not Syria” the relatives write in the letter, as reported by the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers.
The relatives of the suspected ISIS fighters draw attention to the grave humanitarian crisis in the prisons. “Under these circumstances, there is a great danger that our sons, grandsons, or brothers, who had at least distanced themselves from the so-called caliphate, will now radicalize again or at least suffer from severe physical and mental harm” the letter states. The German government had previously repatriated several women and children from the camps in northern Syria.
Those suspected of being ISIS members are sometimes accused of committing severe crimes, including membership in a terrorist organization, as well as torture and rape. The security agencies in Germany closely monitor the involvement of German nationals in terrorist groups and activities abroad, as well as potential travel movements, the Ministry of the Interior’s spokesperson stated. “Individuals who have been militarily trained in the use of weapons/explosives, as well as ideologically indoctrinated, pose a special security risk.