Mother sues French state after daughter leaves to join jihadist fighters in Syria

The mother of a young Frenchman who converted to Islam and went to join jihadist fighters in Syria is suing the state for failing to stop him leaving the airport of his Riviera home town of Nice.

Bryan Dancona, from a Catholic family, left Nice two days after celebrating Christmas with relatives at the end of 2013, and is now in Syria, from where he occasionally telephones his mother Nadine, said her lawyer Samia Maktouf, who argued the case at a civil court in Paris yesterday.

Nadine Dancona is seeking €110,000 on the grounds that border police at Nice airport should have stopped a minor — Bryan was 16 at the time — for questioning when he turned up with no personal belongings other than his identity papers for a flight to Turkey, a staging post for people travelling into war-torn Syria.

If she wins her case, the money will be donated to a group involved in combating terrorism, lawyer Maktouf said.

“What she’s trying to do is raise the awareness of the public authorities,” said Maktouf. “What has happened to Bryan’s mother could happen to any mother. Her reward will be that other mothers are spared the suffering she has to endure,” he said.

The French government adopted a plan in April 2014 aimed at preventing potential jihadist sympathisers before they leave by setting up an online service for families who suspect relatives are about to go and join these radical groups.

The court is due to rule in about two weeks.