This is the first mass repatriation since the fall of the Islamic State group in 2019. France organized the return of 35 minors and 16 women, aged 22 to 39, who had been living for three years in jihadist prison camps in northeastern Syria. These 51 people set foot on French soil on Tuesday 5 July. And after ? What will happen to them?
Children are separated from their mothers
The women were handed over to the judicial authorities and the children to child welfare services, says the Quai d’Orsay. This means that the first stage, for the twelve women who returned accompanied by their children, is separation. “I hope that the services which managed this repatriation are now preparing for this separation”points out Marc Bailly, lawyer for families of children detained in Syria.
In February 2018, Stéphanie told franceinfo about this painful stage: “I told my son he was going to his grandma’s house, but the judge changed his mind.” Her three-and-a-half-year-old son then burst into tears. But in four years, the returns have continued and the process has settled down. Since 2016, 126 children have been repatriated to France, to which are added the 35 who arrived on Tuesday.
Women are taken into custody
It all starts when you get off the plane. The wives of jihadists are immediately placed in police custody within the premises of the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI). At the end of theinterrogation, which can be extended up to six days, they are presented to an examining magistrate. Most of them are then indicted for “terrorist criminal association” and placed in pre-trial detention. “This leaves time for investigations and to shed light on their actions”says Vincent Brengarth, who represents three families of children repatriated on Tuesday. “The care of these mothers requires efforts from the justice system, but they are identified beforehand”continues the lawyer.
“There is no suspense about the fate of mothers.”
Marc Bailly, lawyerat franceinfo
Thus, among the 16 women who returned to France on Tuesday, eight were placed in police custody. “in execution of a search warrant” and “eight are the subject of an arrest warrant”, specifies the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) in a press release. Emilie König, one of the best-known French jihadists, is one of the latter. As a result, they must be presented to an examining magistrate within 24 hours of their arrival on French soil. And their indictment is inevitable.
Emilie König was thus indicted and placed in pre-trial detention the very evening of her return to France. This 37-year-old woman, originally from Lorient (Morbihan), joined the Iraqi-Syrian zone in 2012. She is the mother of five children, including three born in Syria, repatriated to France in early 2021. She is accused of having recruited for the Islamic State group and called to carry out attacks in the West.
“She came back to explain herself and to try as quickly as possible, according to a deadline that she does not control, to see her children again.”
Emmanuel Daoud, lawyer for Emilie Königat AFP
Children are taken care of
Because the children, for their part, are directly taken care of by the competent State services. Either in Seine-Saint-Denis, if they landed at Roissy airport, or in Yvelines, if the plane landed in Villacoublay. In this type of case, the children’s judge issues a provisional placement order (OPP) as soon as they get off the plane and the minors are immediately taken care of by the Child Welfare Services.
“The competent prosecutor’s office has eight days to seize us and once we are seized, we have 15 days to organize a hearing.”
A Parisian children’s judgeat franceinfo
During this time, the children are placed with a foster family. “Sometimes it’s a relay family. The siblings can be separated. We do as we can, depending on availability”, says the magistrate.
According to the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, un only 17-year-old minor, who will become “major in the days to come”, was taken into custody because “there are elements likely to characterize his participation in a terrorist conspiracy”. For everyone else, a long journey begins. “Somatic and medico-psychological assessment”, “psychotherapeutic follow-up”, “schooling”, “accompaniment”… The care of children returning from Syria is heavy, given the trauma that may be theirs. It is based on circulars from the Ministry of Justice of 2018 and 2020.
Children reunite with their families
The first hearing with the judge is an opportunity to decide whether to maintain the placement of the children, to launch investigative measures and to find out more about the extended family. It is necessary in particular to ensure that the grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins do not adhere to the theses of the Islamic State.
“We are trying to find out the parents’ story, understand their radicalization, what led to their departure for Syria, and whether or not a family member is able to take care of the children.”
A Parisian children’s judgeat franceinfo
And explain: “We have six to eight months to do this work”, at the end of which a second hearing is organised. Then they take place once a year, in order to take stock of the progress of the children.
The bond with the family in France, very often grandparents, is tied or renewed gradually. First exchanges by mail, in which children can send drawings, then telephone calls, and finally “mediatized visits”, that is to say supervised by social services. “The family must be perfectly balanced”emphasizes Marc Bailly, who estimates that a year and a half has passed “between the time the children landed” and the one where his clients were able to obtain custody of their grandchildren.
During this time, the children should “to get used to a different way of life”, considers the children’s judge, in charge of a file with four children repatriated to France for more than a year. Their mother has just returned from the Iraqi-Syrian zone. Visits with her children will be able to be organized, including if she is in detention.
“When they arrive they don’t know what an escalator is. They discover ice cream, the sea, holidays…”
A Parisian children’s judgeat franceinfo
And for some, school. An observation shared by Marc Bailly, who receives from his clients “photos of fully happy, integrated children who have the love of their grandparents”.