Spain sinks Swiss plan to withdraw citizenship of terror suspect
Daniel D, his face blurred, was interviewed by SRF last year after his capture in Syria.
SRF-SWI
Switzerland has been foiled in its desire to cancel the citizenship of a terror suspect currently being held in a jail in Syria. The migration office did not know that Spain has acted faster in withdrawing the passport of the dual citizen, reports Swiss public broadcaster SRF.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/mga
Español
es
España se adelanta a Suiza en caso de presunto terrorista
This means that Switzerland cannot also turn its back on the terror suspect, known as Daniel D, as it would leave him stateless.
A letter seen by SRF, dated mid-June, suggests that a months-long process by the State Secretariat for Migration to cancel Daniel D’s citizenship has been in vain. It appears that Spain stripped him of citizenship in 2015.
The Swiss migration office said it would not comment on individual cases. The Spanish embassy to Bern had previously told SRF that Spain had withdrawn citizenship, but the letter from the Swiss migration office now confirms that it has ended its own process.
Born in Geneva to Swiss and Spanish parents, Daniel D was dubbed “Switzerland’s most dangerous Jihadist” by counter-terrorism experts after leaving Switzerland in 2015 to join Islamic State. He was reportedly captured by Syrian forces in June of last year when he was aged 24.
The condition of Daniel D, also known by his alias Abu Ilias al-Swissri, is unclear as he has little contact with the outside world from his cell in Syria.
Although Spain and Switzerland cooperate on anti-terrorism measures, communication between the two countries on this case appears to have been limited.
Dortmund’s Kobel is first Swiss goalie to reach Champion’s League final
This content was published on
Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel has achieved history by becoming the first Swiss goalkeeper to reach a Champion’s League final.
University students in Switzerland join Gaza protest wave
This content was published on
Pro-Palestinian activists occupied university buildings in Lausanne, Geneva and Zurich on Tuesday, widening the protest movement in the Alpine nation.
TradeXBank to resume full operations after Sberbank Switzerland taken off sanctions list
This content was published on
TradeXBank, the former Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank, will be able to resume its dollar-denominated activities from the second half of this year.
Geneva decides not to remove controversial memorials
This content was published on
The city of Geneva has presented an action plan regarding a series of controversial local statues and monuments of historical figures linked to racism, colonialism or slavery.
University of Lausanne calls for end to pro-Palestine sit-in
This content was published on
The pro-Palestinian occupation continues at the University of Lausanne (UNIL). On Monday evening, a group of students refused to agree to the deadline set by the rectorate.
Ukraine peace conference should include Russia, says Chinese ambassador
This content was published on
China supports a peace conference on the Ukraine war that would see equal participation of all parties, says Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui.
This content was published on
A majority of Swiss citizens have open attitudes towards various infertility treatments, including even egg donation, which is currently prohibited.
Another jihadist suspect set to lose Swiss passport
This content was published on
Moves are underway to strip a Geneva-based woman suspected of supporting militant Islamic organisations of her Swiss nationality.
This content was published on
The Federal Intelligence Service (FIS) is reviewing asylum applications as a measure to prevent potential terrorists from entering Switzerland.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.