When Omar left home in 2013, his parents thought he was going to help out at a refugee camp for the victims of Syria's brutal civil war. But the soft-spoken Danish student wasn't on a humanitarian mission -- he had joined the ranks of a jihadist brigade fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But Omar -- whose name has been changed to conceal his identity -- soon realized that what he was seeing on the battlefield was different from what he thought he'd signed up for. "The place I was in, there was some chaos between different groups and there was violence between different groups," Omar, who is in his early twenties, told CNN. "I went there to fight Bashar al-Assad and not to fight other Islamic groups."
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Denmark has unveiled a controversial de-radicalization program for jihadis returning from Syria
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The program offers some returning foreign fighters social support without the threat of jail time
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Denmark has one of the highest proportions of citizens leaving for Syria in Europe
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Danish program lies in stark contrast to UK's more punitive approach to returning fighters
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Unlike in some other countries, it is not a crime in @placeholder to fight in Syria.
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Police here say it's a @placeholder solution that's not particularly special -- it's simply a crime prevention program with a focus on jihadis.
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We could tell them about the @placeholder legislation that makes it illegal to participate in direct terrorist acts and if they did do they might be punished when they come back.
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"They don't consider us as terrorists, and they recognize us as minority living in @placeholder and will continue living in Denmark and that we are a part of this society."
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"They don't consider us as terrorists, and they recognize us as minority living in Denmark and will continue living in @placeholder and that we are a part of this society."
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El-Saadi said that jihadis returning to Denmark were probably turned off by the infighting between the various Muslim groups battling for control of @placeholder, or that they simply wanted to return to a more normal life of school and work.
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Fighters returning to @placeholder often face surveillance, terror charges, and jail time.
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"The UK government treat the people in a harsh way compared to @placeholder," he said.