On Friday, the Federal Administrative Court will hear the repatriation of an ISIS supporter from Salzburg and her two children. The Austrian Foreign Ministry had previously refused to allow them to return from a prison camp in a Kurdish-controlled part of northern Syria (see video above).
This decision was “illegal, especially for G’s two sons,” says lawyer Doris Hawelka. On June 28, 2014, Maria G. traveled from Salzburg to Turkey. She was only 17 years old at the time. The journey took G. to Syria, where she joined the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS). There she gave birth to two children. She was eventually captured five years ago during combat operations against IS and has been in a camp since September 2020.
Ministry: The departure was voluntary
Applications to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for repatriation under the consular law and for an identity document were rejected last year. The Federal Administrative Court intervened and the decision was legally challenged. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs argued on Friday that G. would voluntarily leave the country despite the travel warning. Moreover, repatriation is not the task of the ministry; Syria is dangerous for authorities’ personnel due to the highest level of travel warnings.
Parents: G. received psychological guidance for years
On Friday, the IS supporter’s parents were questioned as witnesses. They communicated with their daughter sporadically via audio messages on WhatsApp, most recently about three weeks ago. Maria G. had a difficult childhood; She was seriously traumatized as a twelve-year-old by an accident in an amusement park and subsequently received psychological care for years.
She then met a migrant from Somalia through a family therapist and came into contact with Islam. In December 2013, the then teenager converted. According to her parents, she occasionally went to mosques in Salzburg.
Worried about children
Conditions in the camp are difficult: a lack of medical care and a difficult situation for the two sons. “My impression of her was that she seemed very intimidated and a bit desperate,” says political scientist Thomas Schmidinger about a meeting in 2022. She was afraid that her children would be abused in the camp and would not be able to go to school. The woman therefore wants to return to Austria, even though she is threatened with criminal proceedings for membership of a terrorist organization. The conditions are already prison-like, but there is no end in sight.
There is sufficient political will for a repatriation. For example, American troops on the ground would offer their help to other countries. However, an official request from the Austrian Foreign Office is necessary.
Source: Krone
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