Islamic State returnees present EU legal conundrum

BRUSSELS — President Donald Trump’s demand that European countries take back their citizens fighting in Syria received a mixed reaction Monday, as nations voiced concerns about how to bring homegrown Islamic State extremists to trial.

The question of such foreign fighters has been a conundrum for the Europeans for several years. Islamic State prisoners could be exposed to torture or the death penalty if they remain in jail in Syria or Iraq, and the EU opposes the death penalty.

But few European countries have embassies in Syria or Iraq, let alone extradition treaties to get their citizens back. Proving who is who and gathering solid evidence against suspects that would stand up in European courts is virtually impossible.

Then there is the question of what to do with the wives and children of European jihadis. The case of a British teenager who ran away to join IS, has given birth to a baby boy and now wants to return to the U.K. has ignited debate in Britain about how to deal with citizens trying to leave Syria now that the extremist group is collapsing.

“It is certainly not as easy as they think in America,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Monday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers. “German citizens have the right to return, but we have little ability in Syria at present to check whether German citizens are actually affected.”

Sen. Bob Menendez. D-N.J., on a visit to Brussels, said the Europeans have to find a way to deal with the challenge.

“If we have someone who we have well established under law as someone who is an ISIS fighter, then we should be able to prosecute them whether at home or abroad,” he said at the German Marshall Fund think tank.