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Speisa makes this claim:

Jihadists returning to Örebro Municipality will get psychological help.

And not only that: Tvärsnytt now reveals that the municipality council are discussing giving them jobs.

[...]

ISIS Jihadists returning to Örebro will be offered help by a psychologist, the municipal leaders have decided. Jihadists are likely to have traumatic experiences and this is where the municipality wants to help.

Can someone confirm or refute the claim?

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  • 35
    Sounds like the suggestion is to treat them like one would a convicted prisoner who has been released, with the idea of facilitating a re-integration into society as a normal, productive citizen. Quite different in that context compared to the "someone wants to reward/pamper terrorists" outrage-framing one sees. Keep in mind that very few modern "western" societies are as ruthlessly punitive towards prisoners as the US, and most have a better success rate in rehabilitation, as well.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Oct 19, 2016 at 14:50
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    The key phrase is "after served sentence".
    – liftarn
    Oct 20, 2016 at 6:52
  • @AndrewMattson is there anything to back up this claim ` have a better success rate in rehabilitation`. I have some doubts that you can create a normal, productive citizen from a terrorist, not to mention that it is unclear why would anyone want to invest so much money and time if you have thousands of normal people whom you might make more productive
    – Salvador Dali
    Oct 21, 2016 at 2:20
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    @SalvadorDali: "it is unclear why would anyone want to invest so much money and time if you have thousands of normal people whom you might make more productive" - the same can be said about ill or disabled people, or any people suffering from any other obstacle. The point of any sort of social effort is precisely not to avoid extra cost and only integrate those whose integration does not require any effort. (Case in point, given that the cited text mentions psychological help, they are pretty much categorized as "ill or disabled" in that quotation.)
    – O. R. Mapper
    Oct 21, 2016 at 10:46
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    @SalvadorDali - If you're looking for rehabilitation of terrorists, that wasn't a claim I was making, and there are probably no numbers anywhere for that. Here is an article about Norway's system, with 1/10 the incarceration rate we have, and a fraction of our recidivism rate. businessinsider.com/…. As to "why you would invest so much money and time" - INVEST is the key word. It costs tens of thousands of dollars every year for every prisoner. Compare a positive tax contribution over potentially millions spent in incarceration.
    – PoloHoleSet
    Oct 21, 2016 at 13:56

2 Answers 2

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It was a proposal in early 2015.

Svenska Dagbladet reports on 18 Jan 2015 (Google translate output:)

Sahlin supports proposals for help to jihadists

The proposal from Örebro municipal Rasmus Persson to help returning jihadists with support for job search and a psychologist is supported by Mona Sahlin, national coordinator against violent extremism. Sahlin wants that more local authorities should "wake up" and develop strategies to handle war returnees.

The proposal by Rasmus Persson from Friday was criticized by politicians and in the social media as promoting the perpetrators. On Sunday evening Rasmus Persson clarified in an interview with SVT Tvärsnytt and said it was not about giving IS-warriors jobs in Örebro. Instead it should be about studies or "to guide in job search and provide support and assistance."

Mona Sahlin thinks that the proposal is a "good example".

Here is the interview referenced in the quote. Again, through Google Translate:

No jobs for IS-warriors in Örebro

Örebro municipal Rasmus Persson statements on how to respond to young men who return after having fought for the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq attracted wide attention.
Now, he says in a recent interview that it definitely is not about giving any IS-warrior a job in Örebro.

However, just like working with defectors from criminal gangs, one must be able to provide an alternative. Then you also have to provide support and help, says Persson.

Now Persson also emphasizes punishment for criminal acts, before it can be supported.

On the question of what the support can look like, he answers:
Studies to guide in job search and provide support and assistance. Just in the same way as we do for many other young people.

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  • The Spesia claim is: Authorities are stating they will give psychological support, and might give jobs. The question is about the former, because the latter isn't really a claim. Your answer seems to address the latter.
    – Oddthinking ♦
    Oct 19, 2016 at 15:26
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    @Oddthinking The answer says "job search and a psychologist", doesn't that address both?
    – DavePhD
    Oct 19, 2016 at 16:20
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There was an interview on Sveriges Radio on October 18, 2016, which described a government program (administered by the municipal coordinator against violent extremism in Lund) to rehabilitate former ISIS fighters with housing, employment, education, and financial support:

It is a straightforward social, economic and material issue. You need to be able to reintegrate into the labor market, you may need a driving license, debt restructuring and a roof over your head.

Original text:

Det är en rakt igenom social, ekonomisk och materiell fråga. Du behöver kunna återintegreras på arbetsmarknaden, du behöver kanske ha körkort, skuldsanering och tak över huvudet.

This is confirmed by English-language news reports. The program was implemented in Lund in 2015, but was still being considered in the Swedish cities of Malmö, Borlänge and Örebro. There was no mention of psychological help. Rather, the idea was to provide practical measures to returning former ISIS members so that they could re-integrate into society.

Over a year earlier, in January 2015, English language news reported that jihadists were already being offered psychological help and that Swedish officials in Örebro wanted to use taxpayer funds to further assist former ISIS soldiers:

[In] Örebro Municipality, jihadists are now being offered psychological help to overcome traumatic experiences they may have suffered while fighting in Iraq and Syria. ... the news that ISIS vets were to get publicly funded aid caused a stir, even in a country famous for its socialist policies. But Sweden’s official coordinator against violent extremism, Mona Sahlin, supports taking the movement national and has been quoted as saying she wanted to impose tax aid for immigrants who fought with ISIS.

Such a program, with or without psychological help, is not offered to Sweden’s own national forces upon their return from duty. There are about 500 soldiers from Sweden serving with NATO, fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. This disparity in benefits between returning jihadis and returning Swedish soldiers is the subject of controversy.

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