Danish IS children to lose right to citizenship

Children of Danish citizens who joined the Islamic State (IS) terror organization will be prohibited from receiving citizenship, the media reported on Friday.

The new policy is part of a recent agreement between the Danish government and the right-wing populist Danish People's Party (DPP), Denmark's second largest political party, Xinhua news agency reported.

A child "born of parents who turned their backs on Denmark should not be part of Denmark", said Danish Minister for Immigration, Integration and Housing Inger Stojberg.

"We don't want them back home," said DPP member Christian Langballe. "We never want to have them home again."

The policy tightens the law for all Danes who joined the IS, making it much easier to revoke their Danish citizenship.

The Swedish arm of the international aid organization Save the Children criticized the move, which will begin in Denmark this summer.

"It goes against all reasonable logic," Ola Mattson, head of Save the Children Sweden, told SVT News.

"We have a strong legal tradition in the Nordic region. We talk about children having individual rights in relation to the state. There are no rights that come with the parents' behaviour," Mattson said.

According to Danish Radio, the measure will only apply to citizens with dual citizenship.

--IANS

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