France: What Lies in Store for Returning Militants?
| Publisher | Jamestown Foundation |
| Author | Alexander Sehmer |
| Publication Date | 27 January 2017 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 2 |
| Cite as | Jamestown Foundation, France: What Lies in Store for Returning Militants?, 27 January 2017, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 15 Issue: 2, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/589d9b7d4.html [accessed 3 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Link to original story on Jamestown website
French authorities have detained one of the county's most high-profile Islamists who, after reportedly growing disillusioned with Islamic State (IS), left Syria, turning himself over to Turkish authorities.
Kevin Guiavarch was placed on the United Nations' sanctions list of individuals connected to IS and al-Qaeda in September 2014 and was the subject of an Interpol red notice. The 23-year-old moved to Syria in 2012, initially joining what was then the al-Nusra Front (now Jabhat Fateh al-Sham) before turning to IS. The French allege he recruited foreign fighters for the group online and believe that he was directly involved with the group's financing (France 24, November 1, 2016).
Guiavarch has variously claimed to be reformed or to have grown fearful of dying in Syria (Aranews, January 23). After contacting the French authorities, he turned himself over to the Turkish police in June last year, along with his four wives and six children, three of which were born in Syria (Le Monde, November 20, 2016). While his family was moved back home shortly after, Guiavarch spent nearly seven months in jail in Turkey before being extradited to France, where he now faces terrorism charges (RFI, January 21).
A former church choirboy raised by a single mother, Guiavarch is one of a number of fairly colorful French alleged jihadist recruiters. His peers include militants like Omar Diaby, a Senegalese immigrant living in Nice, who after moving to Syria faked his own death in order to undergo surgery — afterward, he contacted the French media to announce he was still alive (France 24, June 1, 2016).
Of the foreign fighters who travel from Europe to Syria, a high proportion comes from France. By the close of 2015, the French government estimated a total of about 1,800 fighters had traveled to Syria from France, compared to about 760 from the United Kingdom.
Since then, the trend has started to reduce. As well as security measures, heightened since the Paris attacks of 2015, the French government has employed various deradicalization strategies, including the use of short interactive films available online that show individuals battling with the temptations of radicalization (RFI, November, 18, 2016). Such "soft" techniques should not be too easily dismissed, particularly in Europe, where the data suggests those tempted to join IS are often tech-savvy young people with no real experience in the hardships of violent jihad.
Now in French custody, Guiavarch is doubtless being debriefed by the authorities and should be able to provide some useful insight into IS' structure and finances. The return of foreign fighters is often couched in terms of the potential security threat they pose to their home state; but assuming Guiavarch's reasons for returning are as he claims, he could perhaps prove a useful tool for deradicalization efforts as well.
