France rebuked by Europe rights court for refusing to allow return of ‘IS brides’

The European Court of Human Rights condemns France for refusing to repatriate two of its female citizens held after joining their Islamist partners in Syria.

French authorities should re-examine the request by the women’s parents to allow them to return home, the court says, saying there had not been sufficient reviews to ensure against “arbitrariness” of the refusal.

The case was filed by the parents of two French women who traveled to Syria, where the Islamic State group had taken control of large swaths of territory, and where they later had children with their jihadist husbands.

They are being held in the Kurdish-run Al-Hol camp in northeast Syria following their arrest after the fall of the so-called IS “caliphate,” the parents say, where malnutrition and disease is rife.

The parents say the lives of their daughters and grandchildren are at risk, and asked the European court to ensure their right to return home as nationals of a member state party to the European Convention on Human Rights.

The French government has long refused such a move, saying jihadist fighters and their families must face local justice.