Skip to main content

Terror charges follow Islamic State woman repatriated to Italy

An Italian woman and her four children have been repatriated to Italy, where she was arrested on terror-related charges for having gone to Syria with her husband to join the Islamic State.
Italian police displayed a confiscated Islamic State (IS) during a press conference on anti-terrorism operation at the police headquarters in Rome.
Hmidi Saber, a suspected member of Ansar al-Sharia, a Libyan group linked to al-Qaeda, was arrested on January 10, 2017 in an anti-terrorism operation called 'Black Flag'. / AFP / TIZIANA FABI        (Photo credit should read TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

Italy arrested a woman who joined the Islamic State on Tuesday after she and her four children were returned to the country from a displaced person’s camp in Syria, according to the Italian authorities.

The repatriation follows a debate that has steadily fallen from the global radar as to whether individuals who joined the Islamic State and other armed groups should return to their countries of origin. And now, as the four children sit in foster care pending a decision by an Italian juvenile court, there is also the mounting challenge of how to reverse indoctrination among minors.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.