The Danish government and the Danish People’s Party have agreed on new rules that will allow the authorities to deprive citizens who fought abroad alongside terrorist groups, including Daesh, of their citizenship without the need for legal action, the country’s Immigration and Integration Ministry announced on Thursday.
“These people have gone to fight against democracy, freedom and everything Denmark stands for, and they do not belong in Denmark,” Immigration and Integration Minister Inger Stojberg said, commenting on the agreement, as quoted by the Local news portal.
In addition, Danish passports will no longer be automatically issued to children of Danish citizens who were born outside the country if the purpose of the parent’s stay abroad was the fight alongside terrorist groups.
“Their parents have turned their back on Denmark, so there is no reason for their children to be citizens,” Stojberg added.
The new rules will enter into force only after a general election, which will be held before July.
According to the Danish police, about 150 people have left the country for Iraq or Syria since 2012 to join terrorists — at least one-third of them have returned to Denmark.
The fate of the returning jihadists has come into the spotlight after US President Donald Trump has requested the EU allies to take back the Daesh militants captured by in Syria after the defeat of the terrorists’ last stronghold in the country. Reacting to the request, most of the European countries have decided not to help the jihadists to return, in some cases stripping them of citizenship over security concerns.