From Caliphate to Prison – How Germany is Rehabilitating ISIS Returnees

Related topic:

Management of Foreign Terrorist Fighters, Volunteers, and Their Families

Description:

This report examines how Germany manages the rehabilitation and reintegration of individuals who joined the so‑called Islamic State and later returned from Syria and Iraq. Drawing on updated research originally published with the Friedrich‑Ebert‑Stiftung, it analyzes the full pathway from imprisonment to reintegration, including risk assessment, psychological needs, disengagement processes, probation, and recidivism. The study highlights key challenges, such as false compliance, trauma, gender‑specific factors, and the needs of returnees’ children, and offers policy recommendations to strengthen Germany’s long‑term approach to dealing with extremist offenders. 

Link:

Read the document

Language:

English

Date: 

11.03.2026

Proposed by:

PPHS

Source:

The Counter Extremism Project (CEP), 2025