British jihadis must be brought to justice

The Us-led military coalition formed to destroy Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) achieved an important victory by defeating Islamist militants in their former strongholds of Mosul and Raqqa. But now that the fighting has ended, an equally daunting challenge has arisen: what to do with captured Isil fighters? Hundreds of former Isil fighters, who originate from a number of European countries as well as North America, are being held after being taken captive by the West-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which played a lead role in defeating Isil on the ground. Among those held are Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, both from West London. Two of the so-called Beatles – a title they acquired because of their English accents – they have been linked to some of Isil’s most horrific atrocities, such as the beheadings of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.

It is vital that anyone accused of committing such appalling acts is brought to trial. The difficulty is that many of those now being held have been deprived of their citizenship by their former countries, which appears to be the case with Kotey and Elsheikh. The Home Office has so far refused to comment on whether their British passports have been rescinded.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has taken it upon himself to articulate the Government’s position, insisting that neither of the jihadists should be allowed to return to the UK on the grounds that “they turned their backs on Britain, our values and everything we stand for”. That may well be, but it does not solve the thorny problem of bringing them to justice. On the contrary, the Government’s refusal to have anything to do with surviving British jihadis looks more like a collective effort to wash its hands of the issue.

This is not good enough. As American Defence Secretary James Mattis is expected to warn in Rome this week, European countries have a responsibility to bring to justice those of their nationals suspected of committing war crimes. One possibility might be to send them to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague, which successfully brought prosecutions against those who committed war crimes in Bosnia in the 1990s. This might not be ideal, especially for the US, which is not a signatory to the ICC. But it is far better than ignoring the issue, and allowing captured Isil fighters to go free and rejoin their war against the West.