COPENHAGEN: Children born abroad to Danish militants will no longer receive Danish citizenship, the minority government announced Thursday after striking a deal with its populist ally the Danish People’s Party.
“Contrary to current rules, children who will be born in regions prohibited to Danes... will not automatically receive Danish nationality,” the immigration ministry said in a statement.
“As their parents have turned their back on Denmark, there is no reason for the children to become Danish citizens,” Immigration Minister Inger Stojberg was quoted as saying in the statement.
The proposal must still go through parliament. No date has been set for the vote but it is expected to pass.
The fate of foreign fighters with the Daesh group and their families has become a major international headache since the fall of the last vestige of its so-called caliphate in Syria.
Since 2016, it has been a criminal offense under Danish law to have fought in conflict zones for a terrorist group.
The courts have already convicted 13 people for having joined or tried to join a terrorist organization.
Nine of those were stripped of their Danish nationality and expelled from the country. The others could not be stripped of their citizenship as they did not hold dual nationality.
Under the new rules, holders of dual nationality can lose their Danish citizenship by simple administrative order.
There are around 40 militants with links to Denmark in what used to be territory held by the Daesh group in Syria, 10 of whom have been captured, according to the government.
The exact number of Danish children born there remains unknown.
Denmark to deprive militants’ children of citizenship
Denmark to deprive militants’ children of citizenship
- The fate of foreign fighters with the Daesh group and their families has become a major international headache
- There are around 40 militants with links to Denmark in what used to be territory held by the Daesh group in Syria
Junta leader Gen. Mamdi Doumbouya is declared winner of Guinea’s election, provisional results show
- Mamady Doumbouya took power in 2021 coup
CONAKRY, Guinea: Guinea coup leader Mamady Doumbouya has been elected president, according to provisional results announced on Tuesday, completing the return to civilian rule in the bauxite- and iron ore-rich West African nation.
The former special forces commander, thought to be in his early 40s, seized power in 2021, toppling then-President Alpha Conde, who had been in office since 2010. It was one in a series of nine coups that have reshaped politics in West and Central Africa since 2020.
The provisional results announced on Tuesday showed Doumbouya winning 86.72 percent of the December 28 vote, an absolute majority that allows him to avoid a runoff.
The Supreme Court has eight days to validate the results in the event of any challenge.
Doumbouya’s victory, which gives him a seven-year mandate, was widely expected. Conde and Cellou Dalein Diallo, Guinea’s longtime opposition leader, are in exile, which left Doumbouya to face a fragmented field of eight challengers.
Doumbouya reversed pledge not to run
The original post-coup charter in Guinea barred junta members from running in elections, but a constitution dropping those restrictions was passed in a September referendum.
Djenabou Toure, the country’s top election official who announced the results on Tuesday night, said turnout was 80,95 percent. However voter participation appeared tepid in the capital Conakry, and opposition politicians rejected a similarly high turnout figure for the September referendum.
Guinea holds the world’s largest bauxite reserves and the richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou, officially launched last month after years of delay.
Doumbouya has claimed credit for pushing the project forward and ensuring Guinea benefits from its output.
His government this year also revoked the license of Emirates Global Aluminium’s subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation following a refinery dispute, transferring the unit’s assets to a state-owned firm.
The turn toward resource nationalism — echoed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — has boosted his popularity, as has his relative youth in a country where the median age is about 19.
Political space restricted, UN says
Political debate has been muted under Doumbouya. Civil society groups accuse his government of banning protests, curbing press freedom and restricting opposition activity.
The campaign period was “severely restricted, marked by intimidation of opposition actors, apparently politically motivated enforced disappearances, and constraints on media freedom,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said last week.
On Monday, opposition candidate Faya Lansana Millimono told a press conference the election was marred by “systematic fraudulent practices” and that observers were prevented from monitoring the voting and counting processes.
The government did not respond to a request for comment.
