What Should Happen To Captured British Jihadis?
Two British jihadis fighting for the Islamic State have been captured by the USA backed Syrian Kurdish militia. The two jihadis are the surviving members of a team of four British jihadis notorious for torturing and executing – usually by beheading – western hostages.
Surviving hostages claimed they had been nicknamed ‘The Beatles’ due to their strong British accents. Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were captured recently and, it is believed, may be sent to Guantanamo Bay. I, for one, hope they are sent there as we don’t want them back in Britain under any circumstances.
There are those who say they should be returned to Britain to stand trial for their terrorist activities and, it has to be said, in an effort to not lower ourselves to their level, there is much morality in that point of view.
However, if they are returned to Britain, they would be tried, found guilty and sent to prison – hopefully for a full life term.
The downside to this is that we, the taxpayer, would then be paying for their upkeep in prison. Frankly, nobody wants to pay for their upkeep. Much better if there wasn’t an upkeep to pay for.
Unfortunately, we are far too civilized to have a death penalty – and quite right too – so life imprisonment is as harsh as it gets.
If they are sent to Guantanamo Bay then American tax dollars can be used for their upkeep, which is fine by us.
Related: Jihadi Children Trigger British Terror Alert
Another alternative, and in my view the best option, is to allow the Kurdish militia who caught them try them for their crimes. The likelihood is that they would be executed once found guilty which would be fine. If not, the Kurds can pay for their upkeep in a Kurdish prison.
There is much debate in Blighty and has been for some time, regarding what to do with returning jihadi fighters.
The most popular view is to strip them of British citizenship thereby preventing them from returning. Make them ‘stateless’ and leave them to rot in Syria or wherever they end up.
Several hundred have already returned and, one assumes, are being
closely monitored by our security services. The thing is, this monitoring also has to be paid for yet again, no doubt, from our tax money. Making them stateless and not allowing them entry would be cheaper and safer.
A few of what I tend to call ‘the human rights brigade’ insist it would be against the human rights of the jihadis to make them stateless. It is often difficult to get a response from such odd people when you ask them about the human rights of those beheaded by the scumbags.
Usually, they will just chastise you for calling them scumbags.
Why oh why do ‘the powers that be’ make life far more complicated than is necessary? Is it to try and justify their place in power? Is it because they enjoy making life more complicated for some unknown ends of their own?
“You’re a jihadi. You’re now stateless. Go rot in Syria or wherever you like you aren’t coming here”
“You’re a jihadi. You’ve sneaked into Britain. You will now be chained up, put on a plane and dropped off back in Syria. If you try again we will just shoot you”
Why do we keep ‘pussyfooting’ around here?
Yes, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. A suspected jihadi may not, in fact, turn out to be one. A suspected jihadi deserves a fair trial. If found guilty strip their citizenship and kick ’em out. If found innocent they return to normal life.
These two scumbags don’t need a trial. They are guilty of torture and murder of innocents.
Related: The Continuing Islamification Of Great Britain
Guantanamo Bay? Fine, if that’s what happens. At least we aren’t paying for their upkeep. Let the Kurds do what they will with them? Absolutely fine. Bring them back to Blighty for trial? No! I want my hard earned tax paying for healthcare and elderly care and so on and so forth. I do not want it paying for the upkeep of murdering scumbags who must never be released alive.
I know we can’t exactly openly just kill them – we’re civilized we are – but what about a clandestine operation with the SAS or someone. A Zero Dark Thirty sort of thing. Go in, kill them, get out and nobody knows it’s us.
Just how civilized should we be with these creatures? Just how civilized can we afford to be?
I suspect not very if we want to eradicate them all from the face of the Earth.
Late update: the two jihadis have been stripped of British citizenship. YES!!!
Let’s give them a fair trial and scream: OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!!
No. That’s their way…minus the fair trial bit.
As long as they are stripped of British citizenship….which they have been…we won’t be paying for their upkeep.
They may be trialed at The Hague apparently.
That’ll do.
All I care is they can’t come here and our taxes don’t pay for their upkeep in prison.
They very well may because our sec of defense has been reported as saying they will not be coming here, their home countries need to deal with them.
Now they haven’t got a home country I guess trial at The Hague for war crimes is likeliest…..
Coolio.
That won’t happen. Too expensive. They’ll convince these scumbags to plead guilty to something thus eliminating the cost of a trial.
This is one time I agree with him.
OMG you want them sent to Gitmo after seeing the horrific torture and barbarism that went on there, shame on you Neil, shame on you. They can be tried, sentenced and locked in supermax prisons for less costs than Gitmo. You said you are too civilized for the death penalty then you say, use a clandestine approach to go in, kill them and get out where no one knows it’s us. THAT is uncivilized any way you look at it. Have they done awful things, yes they have, do they deserve awful things to happen to them, no they do not. Try them, sentence them and send them away to prison for life with no chance of an out.
Fine….long as it ain’t here in Blighty.
Don’t want our taxes paying for the Scumbags.
If they are British citizens, why should my American taxes pay to house them at Gitmo?
They aren’t…it’s been revoked – YES! – they are now stateless.
Good. We don’t want em cluttering up our prisons being paid for by our taxes.
Couldn’t care less what happens to them. Kurds kill em? Tried at The Hague? Whatever.
They aren’t British anymore. Good.
Ooh! Now THAT’S a good point! No Way Do We Pay 🙂