Between Detention and Repatriation: Policy Options for Dealing with Detained IS Supporters from Germany
Around 40 men with German citizenship or close ties to Germany are currently in detention in north-eastern Syria. Known as Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), they are part of a Kurdish-run detention system holding around 9,000 former Islamic State (IS) members in total. The detainees are denied access to due process, legal assistance, and basic humanitarian care.
Given the unstable security situation in Syria, the future of this detention system is uncertain. Continued detention under unlawful conditions poses a human rights challenge and carries security risks. Extremist circles are exploiting the situation to spread martyr narratives that can promote radicalisation, particularly among young people — a mechanism that has played a central role in previous radicalisation processes.