Return of ex-IS supporters: Austrians freed from Syria!

Austria took a decisive step last Saturday: two former IS supporters and their children were brought from Syria to Vienna as part of a repatriation operation. Evelyn T., 26 years old, and 27-year-old Maria G. returned to their home country with their underage sons. This measure was taken by the Foreign Ministry, which will now also charge the women for the costs of repatriation, according to current reports from orf.at emerges.

The return of Evelyn T. and her son, born in 2017, who was trapped in the Camp Roj internment camp in Syria, was extremely explosive. Evelyn T. had been there since 2017 and was arrested at Vienna-Schwechat Airport because there was an arrest order against her. Her lawyer, Anna Mair, said she would face the ongoing proceedings brought because of her ties to ISIS. Her son was immediately handed over to the Vienna child and youth welfare service. Maria G., on the other hand, was allowed to travel on to her parents in Salzburg due to the annulment of an arrest order after she and her two sons were also brought back. This repatriation took place under great security risks, as the situation in Syria is considered volatile courier.at reported.

The future of the returnees

Both women associate their return to Austria with an uncertain future. While the public prosecutor's office in Vienna is investigating Evelyn T., it remains to be seen how the judiciary will deal with Maria G.'s case. Maria G. went to Syria in 2015 at the age of 17 and gave birth to two sons there. After her capture, she was held at Camp Roj. The return operation was ordered by the judiciary after the Foreign Ministry had made an offer to return Maria's sons since 2019, which she always rejected.