Leached of land and leadership, the so-called Islamic State (IS) lies in ruin. But the ill-fated caliphate has a final, overdue reckoning for the West. Thousands of foreign terror recruits, rounded up amid IS’s chaotic collapse, now languish in prison. Most are in Syria, but Turkey – having seized swathes of the nation’s northeast in recent weeks – claims to have thousands under lock and key. Not for much longer. In a sudden move, Ankara has started sending the alleged jihadists home.

At the height of its bloodthirsty allure, IS drew in over 27,000 foreign recruits. A large proportion died on the sun-scorched plains of Syria and Iraq. Others have made their way home, running the gauntlet of domestic security checks. And the rest, stuck in judicial limbo, await their fate in Middle Eastern jail cells.

Turkey has 1,200 in custody, Ankara estimates. A quarter are new additions, swept up as Turkish troops wrestled control of northeastern Syria from the incumbent Kurds. President Erdoğan intends for their stay to be short, putting the world on notice with typical gusto: Turkey will not be a “hotel” for militants, his government said last week.

Western nations – particularly in Europe – have been slow to shoulder the burden of their home-grown militants, at times relinquishing responsibility altogether. France especially has faced criticism for casting aside its suspected jihadists, placing their fate in local prosecutions. These trials tend to fall short of international legal standards, the UN says, culminating more often than not in a death sentence.

Erdoğan is happy to play on these fears, cornering foreign powers into repatriating suspected terrorists or risk falling foul of international law. So far, it seems to be working. Soon after Turkey’s announcement, a suspected Danish jihadist was arrested upon his return to Copenhagen, as was a British national after touching down in London. France, Germany, and Ireland have each acceded to Ankara’s wishes also.

But it can be a logistically fraught process. Last week, an American citizen spent three days trapped in the border buffer zone between Greece and Turkey after a botched deportation attempt. His return to the US has now been green-lighted, but other cases pose greater problems. Keen to wash their hands of alleged terrorists, several states have moved to strip suspects of their citizenship. This is but a technicality says Erdoğan, adamant that Turkey will fly them home unilaterally – but with nations often demanding passenger manifests before opening their airspace, it may be an unworkable policy.

A shift in public opinion against repatriation efforts will likely harden the West’s stance further. In Germany, authorities believe more than a thousand citizens joined IS during its heyday. A fifth likely died in Iraq and Syria, but as many as 350 are thought to have made their way home, fuelling fears of domestic attacks. Though returned to be prosecuted, suspects coming from Turkey could well walk free for lack of evidence, further swelling the numbers of alleged militants at liberty. This prospect has had a marked impact on Germans’ approval of repatriation, says polling company Civey, which now puts public support at 31.5% – down from over 50% earlier in the year.

But in reality, Turkey’s foreign fighter contingent is only the tip of the iceberg. Kurdish authorities in Syria have upwards of 10,000 IS militants in detention, at least a fifth of which originate overseas. Despite Erdoğan’s military incursion drawing attention away from the prisons, nearly all remain under lock and key – but they are a “ticking time-bomb”, the US State Department said last week. Washington wants its European allies to hasten repatriation efforts, lest the detained militants slip their Kurdish captors and flood the continent through well-trodden migrant routes.

This would pose a very real threat to domestic security, with counter-terror forces struggling to keep tabs on returnees. If, however, they’re readmitted via official channels, much of the suspected fighters’ threat can be pacified – even if prosecutions fail. Governments enjoy sweeping counter-terror powers, allowing for rigorous surveillance and compulsory deradicalisation schemes.

This will, in all likelihood, mean little to President Erdoğan. Clearing Turkey’s backlog of foreign fighters is his only wish – and he looks to be getting his way.

L'articolo Turkey Deports Foreign Islamic State Fighters proviene da InsideOver.

Mizghan Ahmadi came home from first-grade class one evening in September 2012, but her father Zaman Ahmadi did not make it home. Unlike many Afghans caught up in suicide bombing in the cities, Zaman was caught up in police custody, namely the 13th Police district of Kabul city, the Afghan capital.

When his family arrived at police custody, the Afghan police officers told them that Zaman had become infield and had been transported to the country’s intelligence agency headquarters for further investigation. That night was the beginning of seven years filled with misery for both Zaman Ahmadi in prison, and his two teenage daughters and wife outside.

“Teachers and classmates tell me my father is infield. I have wept many times in the school,” said Mizghan Ahmadi, 15-year old who now studies in the eighth grade. “My sister [13-year old Zohal] comes home every day crying.”

Mizghan and Zolah have grown up with their father in prison on charge of blasphemy and apostasy, an issue that put heavy social shame on the shoulders of elementary school students to carry on. “I have always felt something was missing in my life,” said Mizghan.

Many countries supporting freedom of expression have poured millions of dollars into Afghanistan to build fair judicial institutions for the last 18-years, but poor Zaman had been rotting in prison for simply drafting an article.

After years of working abroad and with primary qualifications in Islamic studies, Zaman wanted to try his luck at writing and to discover himself as a writer of sorts in the country. In 2012 on the anniversary of the destruction of the Buddha statues, Zaman drafted a four-page article, in which he examined why the Taliban bombed Buddha statues in 2001.

Zaman discussed Buddhas and Buddhism, four possible reasons behind the destruction of Buddha, including the Taliban having followed the doctrine of Islam. He submitted his 4,000 word-long article in Persian to the country’s leading newspapers, but none of them accepted the piece. Editors of a small monthly publication in the western Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood, Kabul, appointed a meeting with Ahmadi to discuss the article and the possibility of publishing it.

“We had been talking for two hours and I did not expect to see the police,” said Zaman Ahmadi, in his 40s. “The police officers arrived, handcuffed me,” and put him in their vehicles. A member of staff from the publication had informed the country’s intelligence agency about Zaman Ahmadi, and in return received 500 Afghani (USD 6.4). He was allegedly proud of arresting an infield man, said a friend in private conversation.

Long months of interrogations followed after the detention. Attorneys interrogated him, often with insults, according to Ahmadi. “They would often call for me, ask me some questions, and then nothing,” said Ahmadi in phone interview from Pul-e-Charghi prison, the country’s largest prison.

His first and last trial was held in March 2013. When Zaman entered the primary court in Kabul city, the judge slapped him and ordered him to leave the court, he claimed. Despite Ahmadi declaring he was Muslim, the judges convicted him to 20-year sentence in prison on charges of blasphemy and apostasy.

“As the article was not published, it was not a formal document, but only a personal memo,” said Mohammad Farhang, an independent lawyer based in Kabul. “The judge’s decision was legally and religiously baseless. The decision was caused by grudge and feelings.”

Mahdi Ahmadi, brother of Zaman Ahmadi, visited Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission and the country’s attorney general in vain on multiple occasions. Mahdi was told that his brother had no other way, but to serve 20 years in Pul-e-Charghi prison.

“We are concerned with the trial of Zaman Ahmadi,” said Zaman Sultani the regional researcher at Amnesty International. “Mr. Ahmadi was mistreated by the judges and was not informed about the judge’s decision.”

In late 2017, Integrity Watch Afghanistan reported on Afghan prisons and detention centres. The watchdog body documented inhumane conditions in the facilities, including severe overcrowding and insufficient toilets, potable water and mattresses. The situation was worse for Zaman, who has been bearing additional burdens. The Taliban prisoners beat him up and the prison authorities mistreated him regularly, Zaman said.

“It is [the arrest of Zaman Ahmad] violation of freedom of expression,” said Jawad Zawulistani, a human rights defender in Kabul. “He [Zaman Ahmadi] is a victim of the institutional corruption and nepotism. If he had a network, he would not have to have been prisoned.”

For seven years, Zaman remained in prison and immersed himself in writing Facebook posts, poems, and short stories in a bid to bear the unbearable nights and days inside the prison. Using feature phones, he was able to manage a Facebook account. One trend on social media pages brings a smile to his face: the support and demands of Afghan social media users to free Zaman.

“The support of people heals my wounds,” said Zaman Ahmadi who has 3,702 friends on Facebook. Ordinary people visit him in the prison, pose for a photo, and post it on social media. “I am deeply grateful for your visit,” Zaman writes a thank-you post, with a digital signature of “Ahmadi, sixth block, Pul-e-Charghi prison.”

“The commission is following up with Ahmadi’s case, because we think there were serious issues and the case needs to be re-considered,” said Shahrazad Akbar, chairperson of Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission. “We sent a letter to AGO [Attorney General Office] and advocated for appealing.”

The country’s attorney general referred his case to the country’s Supreme Court to make a final decision on Zaman Ahmadi’s case, as he was initially denied for appeal. The Supreme Court was unavailable to comment on the case, despite InsideOver’s efforts.

Photos of Zaman Ahmadi displaying inside the prison and his two teenage daughters went viral on social media pages this year and put pressure on the judicial institutions to grant an appeal for Zaman Ahmadi. The Supreme Court has yet to make decision, but the attention has been shifted on the daily lives of Mizghan and Zohul who go to school hand in hand and often people eye at them when they walk to school.

“When I was younger, I felt shame for my father, but now I am proud of my father,” said Mizghan. “Writing is not a crime. He has something to say.”

L'articolo Afghan Man Serves 20-year Sentence in Prison for Writing Article proviene da InsideOver.