Mindful
Diamond Member
- Banned
- #1
They no longer deserve the rights that come with citizenship.
We still seem unsure about what to do with our enemies. Last week, heated debate raged about how to deal with the ‘ISIS Beatles’ Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, two ex-British citizens who became infamous for beheading Western civilians in Syria on behalf of ISIS. The two men were captured by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces a few weeks ago.
Ever since their capture, Western governments have been struggling to work out what to do with them. The UK defence secretary Gavin Williamson says the pair should not be returned to Britain for trial here. US defence secretary James Mattis says they will not be imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. This week, UK home secretary Amber Rudd said she was ‘absolutely committed to making sure that they will face trial’ but would not be drawn on where.
Due process is a vital principle of Western law. It has been relentlessly attacked in recent years, with everything from the presumption of innocence to the right to trial by jury being gradually undermined by successive governments. But the idea that we should try these men, or anyone else fighting for ISIS, in a British court is not a victory for due process. In fact, it would be an aberration of due process. The idea that these men should be tried in one of our courts as if they committed an ordinary crime further undermines the principles of due process.
Why the ISIS Brits should not be tried in Britain
We still seem unsure about what to do with our enemies. Last week, heated debate raged about how to deal with the ‘ISIS Beatles’ Alexanda Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh, two ex-British citizens who became infamous for beheading Western civilians in Syria on behalf of ISIS. The two men were captured by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces a few weeks ago.
Ever since their capture, Western governments have been struggling to work out what to do with them. The UK defence secretary Gavin Williamson says the pair should not be returned to Britain for trial here. US defence secretary James Mattis says they will not be imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay. This week, UK home secretary Amber Rudd said she was ‘absolutely committed to making sure that they will face trial’ but would not be drawn on where.
Due process is a vital principle of Western law. It has been relentlessly attacked in recent years, with everything from the presumption of innocence to the right to trial by jury being gradually undermined by successive governments. But the idea that we should try these men, or anyone else fighting for ISIS, in a British court is not a victory for due process. In fact, it would be an aberration of due process. The idea that these men should be tried in one of our courts as if they committed an ordinary crime further undermines the principles of due process.
Why the ISIS Brits should not be tried in Britain
