The Pristina Basic Court said it had detained two repatriated ISIS suspects.
The first person, with the initials H.S., is suspected of joining the Islamic State ISIS terrorist organization “voluntarily and in full conscience” in Syria in November 2015.
The second individual, with the initials Y.B., is suspected of participating in the Syrian war fighting alongside or with ISIS.
Kosovo banned participation in foreign armed groups in 2015 after more than 400 citizens had joined the conflict in Syria to fight alongside Islamist terrorist organisations Al-Nusra and ISIS. Those who returned from the region are treated as ISIS suspects, have faced trial, and been imprisoned.
The statement from the court did not say whether the two men were among a group repatriated over the weekend from Syria.
On Saturday, four Albanian women and nine children were repatriated from a Syrian camp. The group were all related to Albanians who joined Islamist extremist groups fighting in Syria and Iraq.
Speaking to the media, Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Zvecla did not reveal any details about the individuals, but confirmed that specialized institutions would be tasked with “rehabilitating” and “de-radicalizing” ISIS suspects.
“This is not the first such operation, and I believe it will not be the last one. We will together try to repatriate all our compatriots,” Svecla said.
“But our work does not stop here. Our teams of different profiles now have a lot of work to do so those individuals get rehabilitated into society,” he continued.
Albania’s Interior Minister Bledi Cuci attended the return of 13 Albanian women and children at Pristina airport in neighboring Kosovo. He thanked US authorities and the Lebanese Gen. Abass Ibrahim, who he said played a key role in the repatriation operation.
“We stand determined to repatriate every Albanian citizen who has remained there [in Syria]. We have exact statistics which we have developed with our partners in the region there,” Cuci said.
The Albanian group that landed at Pristina airport was joined by “other Kosovar citizens leaving the hell camps,” read a statement by authorities.
The operation on the weekend was the fourth such repatriation effort for Albanians in Syrian camps. Dozens of Kosovo citizens remain in Syria, the majority of them widows of former militant fighters, according to authorities.
Over the past two years, Kosovo has repatriated at least 121 citizens, predominantly women and children, from Syria. A number of the adults have been charged with terrorism-related offences, and are serving prison sentences as a result.
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