Quora Answer: Should Governments Accept Former Jihadists Back?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “Should governments accept former jihadists back in?”

Back in what sense?  If you mean whether they should accept them back into the country, as opposed to stripping them of citizenship, then absolutely.  Stripping them of citizenship does not make the problem go away.  They are still in a position to plot against the country.  They should be brought back, tried and then executed.  There should be no stay of execution, no rehabilitation programme, no spectacle of a long trial.  Life imprisonment is not going to help because they will become the reason for hostage taking by other jihadists to be exchanged for.  There is also the chance that they will radicalise others behind bars. In the same manner that we kill rats so they do not breed, they should be eliminated as a pest control exercise.