The director of Belgium's Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (OCAM) has urged the future government to repatriate all Belgian ISIS jihadists held in Syria.
In an interview published in Le Soir on Friday, OCAM director Gert Vercauteren emphasised the importance of moving these individuals back to Belgium.
Since the end of Bashar al-Assad's 13-year rule in Syria on Sunday, it has been revealed that five to ten Belgian nationals are members of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which toppled the Assad regime.
Vercauteren expressed little concern about the Belgian HTS members. "They have been in Syria for a long time and seem to be settled there. We have very few indications of their intention to return to Belgium," he said.
Prison not a long-term solution
There are 13 Belgian nationals held in Kurdish-run prisons and camps in Syria. Vercauteren stressed that these facilities do not offer a long-term solution and said that Belgium "cannot ignore" the issue. He believes trials in Syria to be a preferable course of action.
However, he warned that if such trials are not forthcoming, Belgium and other European countries cannot leave these individuals in prison indefinitely.
He argued that inaction could lead to negative consequences for Belgium.
