Tim Newark
that before committing himself to a cause that has devastated the Middle East and brought misery to millions.
But despite clear evidence of atrocities committed by these terrorists they are now in legal limbo. The CPS has advised the Government that legal procedural problems could well see their cases collapse in court and, worse-case scenario, they could walk free. No doubt that would delight human rights lawyers.
Faced with this gross injustice and potential danger to UK citizens it is little wonder that Home Secretary Sajid Javid has changed our regular policy of not sending British prisoners to face trial in a country that enacts the death penalty. It is one of the advantages of having a tough talking US president in power that Donald Trump let it be known to Javid that he would be very disappointed if the UK blocked the pursuit of justice against foreign fighters because of our usual legal opposition.
Assurances of not seeking the death penalty were promptly dropped by British officials with Javid quite rightly saying that the higher demand for international justice was far more important.
This is not a case of the UK caving in to Trump bullying but a situation in which both countries must work together to ensure these prisoners face
AND they quite rightly argue that any setback in their struggle, any chaotic situation in their fragile part of the world, might well see these prisoners escape. Some of their guards might even be corrupted by offers of money by the still very rich commanders of IS.
The international community needs to get its collective act together and if some of the more liberal European countries are unwilling to take them back they should fast-track their delivery to the US. Now is not the time to use their possible distaste for President Trump to hinder the prosecution of justice against these brutal terrorists.
The howls of outrage and loss expressed by so many families whose men, women and children have been raped, butchered and slaughtered by IS’s so-called soldiers demand to be heard. One Syrian father told a BBC journalist this week that he had been forced to watch his 14-year-old son have his head cut off by a jihadist.
The remnants of this barbarian horde are now surrounded in the province of Idlib in northwest Syria and though we should have enormous sympathy for the innocent families caught up in this vicious conflict I hope the Russians and Syrians show no mercy to the hard-line Islamist radicals they capture. The fewer of these terrorists that survive to face the lottery of international justice the better.
Our virtues of tolerance and fairness should not blind us to the fact that sometimes crimes are so monstrous they need to be dealt with swiftly and ruthlessly. It is good to see that Sajid Javid and the UK Government have the common sense and courage to understand that.
‘Worst-case scenario, they could walk free’