15 women and 32 children were repatriated from the jihadist prison camp in Roj, Syria, on Tuesday. This is the third large-scale repatriation operation carried out by France, criticized for having taken too long to organize it.
This is the third major repatriation operation in France. This Tuesday, 15 women and 32 children, so far detained in jihadist prison camps in northeastern Syria, landed in France. For the most part, these French women went voluntarily to territories controlled by jihadist groups in the Iraqi-Syrian zone. They were then captured when Daesh fell in 2019, and many of their children were born in the camps.
France first proceeded to the drip repatriation of its citizens held in the camps, for fear, in particular, of possible terrorist acts on its soil. However, after several condemnations from the ECHR and the United Nations, and under pressure from humanitarian organizations, France finally launched extensive procedures. What becomes of these women and children back in France?
Children cared for by Child Welfare
“As soon as they arrive on the airport tarmac, the children are separated from their mother”, explains to BFMTV.com Me Marc Bailly, the lawyer for families whose three children were repatriated in March 2019.
“The minors have been handed over to the services responsible for Childhood Aid (ASE) and will be the subject of medical and social monitoring”, specifies in a press release the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which piloted the operation of this Tuesday. “They will be presented to psychologists and doctors to determine if they have physical or mental injuries,” said Me Bailly.
From a legal point of view, the children’s judge in charge of the case issues an order for temporary placement in a foster family. During this time, judicial measures of educational investigation are launched in order to determine whether the families of these children, generally their grandparents, can support them.
The mothers “handed over to the judicial authorities”
Françoise*’s grandchildren were repatriated from Syria in 2019. A few months after their placement in foster care, she obtained visitation rights, she told BFMTV.com. First a few hours, then whole days and vacations spent together, before obtaining final custody of her grandchildren.
“Today, the children are doing very well. They are well integrated, they work well at school, they have friends… They no longer have psychological support, they are calm… A safe family environment and love will allow them to rebuild themselves”, foresees this grandmother.
As for the mothers of these children, once they arrive in France, they are “handed over to the competent judicial authorities”, specifies the press release from the Quai d’Orsay. They are the subject of search warrants or international arrest warrants and are placed in police custody at the premises of the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI) as soon as they leave the plane. For the most part, they are then presented to an examining magistrate, indicted for “terrorist criminal association” and placed in pre-trial detention.
*Name has been changed.
