French Parliament on 16 September 2014 approved a new anti-terror bill aimed at preventing jihadists from travelling to Iraq, Syria or elsewhere by confiscating their passports.
The bill also targets messages posted on the Internet. The bill will undergo a single-round formal vote on 17 September 2014.
The ban is imposed to prevent people who are planning to take part in terrorist activities, war crimes or crimes against humanity, from travelling abroad. Around 930 French citizens travelled to and from Iraq and Syria recently. Of those 36 were killed while overseas.
The travel ban may be imposed for six months, but is renewable for up to two years. Violation of the new French rules will be punishable by three years in prison and a hefty fine. However, anyone targeted by the new laws would have the right to legal redress.
This French move is similar to the plans of British government wherein it is willing to give powers to border police in seizing passports from suspected would-be jihadists at the border.
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