Illustration: The Daesh flag. - AP / SIPA

It is a figure particularly scrutinized by the deputies of the majority. While a bill intends to strengthen the judicial monitoring of those convicted of terrorism after their release from prison, a study published on Tuesday could strengthen the arguments of the elected representatives of the Republic on the move (LREM). According to a survey by the Center for Terrorism Analysis (CAT) on the basis of legal statistics, some 60% of French people who left to jihad between 1986 and 2011 in Afghanistan, Bosnia or Iraq, have reoffended on their return.

Published by the newspaper Le Figaro and of which AFP has obtained a copy, this study shows that six "returnees" out of ten "were sentenced in France or abroad after their return for terrorist offenses distinct from their sole stay. on zone ”. These offenses range from the attack to the planned attack, including logistical or financial support for a terrorist network and staying in another theater of operations.

A study provided to the Senate

The contribution of the CAT was provided to the Senate within the framework of the examination of the bill establishing security measures against perpetrators of terrorist offenses. It documents a total of 166 jihadists who left for Afghanistan (90 between 1986 and 2011), Bosnia (60 between 1992 and 1995) and 16 in Iraq (between 2003 and 2006), of which 150 survived. The percentages of what the CAT calls not recidivism but “re-engagement” are reaching new heights: 100% for “Iraqis”, 72% for “Afghans” and 39% for “Bosnians”.

A study by @CAT_Centre reveals a high rate of recidivism among #jihadists: 60% of fighters who left for #Afghanistan, #Bosnia-Herzegovina and #Irak have been convicted of other terrorist offenses. To read in @Le_Figaro https://t.co/cLKwqNtePy

- CAT (@CAT_Centre) July 20, 2020

The French who left to join the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, many during the Caliphate period (2014-2019), and who dominate public debates today are not taken into account. No global study exists to date on their case, argues the CAT, which underlines the lack of historical perspective.

Prison, a major challenge

“The recent nature of the Syrian-Iraqi jihadist networks and their judicial treatment (nearly 600 people tried since 2014, the majority of whom are still in detention) does not allow us to make a relevant assessment of the risk of recidivism on the part of these people ”, according to the document.

The CAT also reaffirms how much the prison environment remains "one of the major challenges which France must face in order to curb radical contagion", stressing in addition that 120 radicalized prisoners will have to be followed on their release from prison by 2022. He considers it essential to strengthen the measures provided for in the proposed law for the monitoring, before their release, of prisoners convicted of terrorism.

He also recommends that the security measure proposed at the end of the sentence (five years in correctional matters and 10 years in criminal matters) be replaced by an annual renewal without maximum duration. And that it be extended to the authors of apology and provocation to acts of terrorism.

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  • Justice
  • Society
  • Jail
  • Recidivism
  • Terrorist attack
  • Daesh
  • Terrorism
  • Jihadism
  • Jihad