The Returnees
Seriously...25 Maalis 2016

The Returnees

On an August bank holiday in 2014, Shiraz Maher at the International Centre for Study of Radicalisation at Kings College London received an email sent by a disillusioned British jihadist from Syria.

"We came to fight the regime and instead we are involved in gang warfare. It's not what we came for but if we go back to Britain we will go to jail. Right now we are being forced to fight - what option do we have?"

The man in his twenties claimed to represent dozens of other jihadists' desperate to return to the UK but fearing long prison sentences.

Gordon Corera explores the British government's response to managing returnees. In the last two years Britain has brought in temporary exclusion orders and is able to confiscate passports to prevent people preparing to travel to Syria.

France has gone one step further - since the Paris attacks in November police has placed over 400 citizens under house arrest and can strip French born dual nationals of citizenship. Denmark and Germany have taken a different approach and instead try to rehabilitate rather than imprison; helping young men and women get jobs, housing and education.

The Home Office estimates that around 800 British nationals have travelled to Syria since the start of the conflict and that around half of those have returned, though experts say these are conservative figures. What's the best way to deal with this growing threat, particularly when returnees are responsible for attacks such as those in Paris last November?

Gordon Corera speaks with Shiraz Maher, Rashad Ali of the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, solicitor Gareth Peirce, Hanif Qadir of the Active Change Foundation and counter-terrorism officer DAC Helen Ball. We also hear from a returnee.

Producer: Caitlin Smith.

Jaksot(484)

Wokewash - Episode 1

Wokewash - Episode 1

Following on from the success of Green Inc and with the same bold, provocative and entirely un-switchoffable energy, writer, comedian and satirist Heydon Prowse turns his tongue-in-cheek attention cor...

29 Maalis 202429min

The War the World Forgot

The War the World Forgot

Since it gained Independence in 1956 Sudan has had at least 2 major civil wars. The last one resulted in Southern Sudan becoming an Independent state in 2011. The latest civil war broke out last April...

26 Maalis 202428min

Farmers and Furious

Farmers and Furious

Following wide ranging farmers' protests across Europe, now British farmers are starting to show their discontent with thousands of farmers meeting in Wales, as well as protests taking place in Englan...

15 Maalis 202428min

Decolonising Russia

Decolonising Russia

All along Russia’s border, in former Soviet republics, the Ukrainian war has prompted a new, more assertive sense of national identity. They’re asking whether – despite independence – they’ve really o...

12 Maalis 202427min

How to Build an Oil Field

How to Build an Oil Field

In September 2023 permission was given to develop Rosebank, the UK’s largest untapped oil field. Located west of Shetland, the UK government says it will provide energy security in the UK for a whole ...

8 Maalis 202428min

The Forensic Jeweller

The Forensic Jeweller

Jewellery can tell us so much about people - the ones that wore it, and the ones that made it. It reveals something about status, or power, or belief systems - religion and relationships. There's so m...

5 Maalis 202429min

The Rise of Sinn Féin

The Rise of Sinn Féin

Ireland correspondent Chris Page looks at the growth of Sinn Féin across the island of Ireland over the last 30 years and explores how it has achieved that. He examines the party's current aims and po...

27 Helmi 202428min

Who Do You Really Think You Are?

Who Do You Really Think You Are?

We’re a nation obsessed with genealogy. Millions of us are gripped by TV shows like 'Who Do You Think You Are', where genealogists show celebrities their famous ancestors - like Danny Dyer being desce...

23 Helmi 202428min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

sita
olipa-kerran-otsikko
ihme-ja-kumma
kaksi-aitia
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
i-dont-like-mondays
uutiscast
poks
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
antin-palautepalvelu
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
aikalisa
loukussa
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
naakkavalta
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2