Turkey threatens to send foreign Isis suspects home from next week
Source: The Guardian
Turkey threatens to send foreign Isis suspects home from next week
Interior minister said repatriation of alleged terrorists would include those rendered stateless
Bethan McKernan in Istanbul
Fri 8 Nov 2019 16.49 GMT
Last modified on Fri 8 Nov 2019 19.24 GMT
Turkey will begin deporting foreign members of Islamic State in Turkish custody back to their home countries from next week, the countrys interior minister has said.
Ankara has repeatedly criticised European nations for refusing to take back any of the 1,200 foreign nationals currently held in Turkish prisons on suspicion of links to the terror organisation.
Now we are telling you that we are going to send [members of Isis] back to you. We are starting this on Monday, Süleyman Soylu said in Ankara on Friday.
In earlier comments, Soylu said repatriation efforts would also include individuals who have had their European citizenship revoked and are legally stateless.
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The logistics of the policy remain unclear. Some countries request passenger manifests for both military and commercial flights in advance before a plane is allowed to enter their airspace. It is also unlikely that Turkey will be able to repatriate those who have lost their citizenship.
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Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/08/turkey-isis-suspects-repatriation-islamic-state