Amina B. last stayed with acquaintances in Turkey. When she sought new papers at the German embassy in Ankara, the authorities in Germany learned of her plans to return. A few days ago her war journey ended, and she and her children are now in Bonn. It is standard procedure that security authorities now examine whether and to what extent the 26-year-old may be punishable for activities in Syria. As GA learned from security circles, the Federal Prosecutor's Office is investigating the initial suspicion that B. could have supported a foreign terrorist organization.

For other returnees from Syria, such a crime has often resulted in stringent punishment. One case was that of Karolina R. from Bad Godesberg, who traveled with her seven-month-old son to Syria with Islamist motivations. She later returned and was sentenced in 2015 to three years and nine months for supporting IS.

It is unclear whether or not Amina B. will face conviction. According to GA information, there is currently neither a file number nor an indictment. The fact that she is being investigated is standard practice, since she has been in an area controlled by militias such as Al-Nusra Front or IS.

Depending on the marital status of the parents and the circumstances of how the children were taken outside of the country, child abduction is also an option, as several other cases have shown. With a criminal case in Germany, Amina B. would fare comparatively well. Several young women from Germany, some of them minors, have made headlines recently because they are currently awaiting trial in Syria and Iraq, facing a death penalty in the worst case.

According to Germany’s domestic intelligence service (BfV), children and young people are an integral part of IS propaganda and represent a new generation of fighters. Hans-Georg Maaßen is president of the BfV, and he said recently, "We see the danger of children socialized and indoctrinated by Islamist jihadists, returning from war zones to Germany." He warned against a "new generation of jihadists."

Because many charismatic leaders of the Salafist scene are in custody, women fill the gaps, explained Burkhard Freier of the NRW intelligence authorities. He recently warned against an Islamist “sister network” whose mission was to proselytize and incite against “infidels.” With the ban on public distribution of the Koran, Salafism has gone behind closed doors of private homes.

Many of the children are given names as “Soldier of God” or “Lion of Islam.” Authorities discuss internally about the impact of such names at school, how it could play out in the classroom or on the playground. But not only law authorities are confronted with the issue of returnees. Especially when children are involved, engagment of the youth welfare office, social workers and prevention concepts are also called for. The measures taken should ideally mesh with each other in a meaningful way.

Asked about such cases as those of Amina B., the Bonn Youth Welfare Office says that its general practice is to protect the best interests of the child in individual cases where a danger exists. The Integration Office cooperates with an advisory board and a voluntary program which helps people leave the Islamist scene. In a few days, the Islamist scene in Bonn will be back in focus, at a conference in the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin. (Orig. text: Rüdiger Franz. Translation: ck)