Have ex-foreign fighters been de-radicalized?

Most of the convicts have been participants in the civil wars of Syria and Iraq.

Radio Free Europe has spoken to one who has served three and a half years in prison, but he has not given details of what he is doing now.

“That era is over. “I have completed the prison, now I am working”, he said and asked not to be identified.

REL has also tried to talk to some other former prisoners, to find out what they did after serving a sentence for terrorism, but they have refused to respond.

Kosovo, in 2015, has drafted the law, according to which any person who participates in foreign wars can be sentenced from 5 to 15 years in prison.

Since 2011, for four or five years in a row, more than 350 Kosovars have traveled to Syria and Iraq. Many have said that are lined up alongside the Islamic State militant group war.

So far, it is estimated that more than 250 Kosovars have returned from the war – including relatives of the fighters. Some have died on the battlefield and for others the location is unclear.

For the treatment of returnees from Syria and Iraq, Kosovo since 2019, has acted on the basis of the Rehabilitation and Reintegration Program of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Grants for ex-prisoners for terrorism

The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) did not explain whether these people, who have already been released, were de-radicalized, but said that they received grants.

“All persons released from prison and who have received grants, have begun to deal more with themselves and their families, and also, every time we have consultations about additional needs from the family,” said in a written response sent to Radio Free Europe.

“For the category of released from prison and their families, to date 58 people have received grants according to their request, 22 people have attended various courses, and 39 people have been part of various trainings, and 21 people “Grants have been approved and it is expected that their deliveries will be made by the beginning of April”, it is said in the answer.

The grants that these people and their families have received are mainly related to the agricultural sector.

However, according to a report of the Kosovo Center for Security Studies, an organization that has participated in the implementation of programs for the rehabilitation and reintegration of citizens returning from war zones, has not had a consistent plan by the institutions on how to treat returnees in Kosovo , nor the role of the Kosovo Probation Service (KPS) in this regard.

The staff of this mechanism of the Ministry of Justice – which deals with the Albanian reintegration of convicted persons (probation) – according to KCSS, lacked basic knowledge and were not prepared to treat these persons.

“Since 2014, the country’s institutions have implemented R&R programs for individuals convicted of offenses related to violent extremism and terrorism. “These projects were ad-hoc, not well planned, short-term and did not include relevant institutions such as the KPS,” said in a report published in December 2021.

The report also states that there was no separate budget for rehabilitation and reintegration.

KCSS also told Radio Free Europe that due to low sentences and the reluctance of some convicts to become part of reintegration programs – which have been part of the anti-extremism strategy – implementation has become almost impossible. of rehabilitation and reintegration programs.

“What is very important and we have not seen what has been done so far, a risk assessment should be made first for these individuals and it is important to improve inter-institutional coordination. “We have noticed that there is no coordination between the local and central level.” said Shpat Balaj from KCSS.

According to him, Kosovo institutions should establish sustainable and long-term programs and mechanisms that would address similar problems in the future.

For the rehabilitation and reintegration of persons convicted of terrorism, in 2018, the Ministry of Justice of Kosovo has signed an agreement with the Islamic Community of Kosovo (BIK).

The one-year agreement provides for imams appointed by the BIK to hold lectures for convicts in Kosovo correctional institutions, in order to provide religious knowledge.

The Ministry of Justice of Kosovo says that they are making efforts to renew the agreement with BIK.

In 2018, the BIK had selected 20 imams appointed to lecture in Kosovo prisons in order to de-radicalize prisoners.

But Professor Ismajl Hasani, a sociologist of religion, told Radio Free Europe that correctional institutions should change the approach and treatment of people serving sentences for terrorism-related offenses. He says the plan for treating these people has been and should be changed.

“Only imams are involved in the so-called reintegration of these people, when it is known that this part has a high degree of indoctrination, the memorandum should have included people from different fields, especially clinical psychologists, sociologists and people who they know the religious problems “, says Hasani.

Since the outbreak of the armed conflict in 2011, more than 350 Kosovars have traveled to Syria and Iraq. In the group of Kosovars who traveled to Syria, in addition to men, there were women and children.

So far, more than 250 Kosovars have returned from Syria to Kosovo. Kosovo became one of the first countries in the world to systematically repatriate its citizens from Syrian camps.

In April 2019, in a covert operation supported by the United States, 110 Kosovars were repatriated, among them four IS fighters, 32 women and 74 children, and on July 17, 2021, Kosovo institutions repatriated 11 citizens from conflict zones in Syria.

According to Kosovo institutions, more than 80 Kosovars were killed in combat zones.

Persons who managed to return to Kosovo faced lawsuits, as according to the law adopted in 2015, participation in foreign wars is punishable by 5 to 15 years in prison. adhof other states of the Western Balkans sanction participation in foreign conflicts or wars.REL

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