Varadkar backs right of return for Lisa Smith and child via IrishTimes
It is understood she and her two-year-old child are currently in the Al-Hawl refugee camp along with about 500 other wives and children of Islamic State fighters.“We still don’t have full information about this case,” he told reporters in Dublin. “Each of these cases is going to have to be treated differently.“Going to Syria or going to live in what was called Islamic State is not in itself an offence or a crime. So we will need to carry out an investigation.
“I know the authorities there will want to interrogate her to see if she has been involved in any crimes there. But it’s very possible that wasn’t a combatant. “We really need to get to the bottom of the facts here. Carry out a security assessment to see if the Syrian authorities want to carry out a prosecution or not.
“But ultimately this is an Irish citizen and we don’t believe that removing an Irish citizen’s citizenship from her or her family, rendering them stateless, would be either the right or compassionate thing to do.as will her child. But as an Irish citizen, it’s not just as simple as coming here and proceeding as if nothing had happened. There will need to be an interrogation by the authorities there. There may need to be a prosecution there.
“ I think that’s always the way the Government has operated in general – but particularly we’re aware of that in this case as well.”
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