Outgoing ministers Bruins Slot (Foreign Affairs) and Yeşilgöz (Justice and Security) wrote this in a letter to the House of Representatives. The women are transferred to the Netherlands for trial. This ‘prevents two suspects from remaining impunity’, the minister writes.
According to a court ruling, the government must make every effort to allow suspects to attend their trial in the Netherlands. The women and children came to the Netherlands with help from the United States.
The collection of IS women and children was once politically controversial, but now happens regularly. For example, small groups of people have already returned in 2019 and 2021. The largest group came in 2022, when the government collected a total of 12 women and 28 children.
When the Islamic State terrorist movement founded a caliphate, it led to a large flow of ‘travellers’. According to the AIVD intelligence service, a total of approximately 300 people have traveled out.
100 travelers
According to the most recent figures from the service, approximately 100 Dutch travelers are still in the Middle East such as Syria, Iraq or Turkey. Women usually stay in Syrian Kurdish camps and male travelers in prisons in northeastern Syria.
In addition, approximately 150 minors with a Dutch link reside in the region. The children then have at least one parent with Dutch nationality or parents who have lived in the Netherlands.
