Dutch court sues 4 women for involving with ISIS
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A Dutch court sentenced four Dutch women on charges of being involved with the Islamic State (ISIS), and engaging in preparatory acts for “terrorist” crimes in Syria or Iraq from 2013 onwards.
On April 13, the women were sentenced to between 30 and 36 months in prison, with 12 to 15 months of probation, ANP reported.
The women and children were removed from Roj camp, in the far northeastern Syria, in February 2022 to face prosecution over their possible involvement with ISIS, the report added.
Roj camp is one of the camps in northeast Syria that house thousands of people, including many foreign nationals, since the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS declared the territorial defeat of the terror group in March 2019.
It currently houses 806 families, including 2,800 individuals of Arabs and foreigners, mostly women and children of ISIS family members from 62 countries, according to a previous report published by North Press.
The 32-year-old Meryem S, the 37-year-old Nawal H, the 31-year-old Hafida H, and th2 27-year-old Amber K were sentenced to prison.
The court also said Nawal H. was also found guilty of leaving her three children neglected in a desperate situation.
The court indicated that the women were fully aware of the ongoing conflict, as they joined the terrorist group and traveled to ISIS-held regions. Their husbands were also active ISIS militants, according to the court.
The court said that it reduced the period of sentences to less than four years, the terms which were demanded by the Public Prosecution Service (OM), because the women “explicitly renounced the ISIS ideology,” and taking into account the time they spent in the camp.
On Nov. 2, 2022, the government of Netherlands announced repatriating nationals of ISIS family members from camps in northeastern Syria, so they could face prosecution over their possible involvement with ISIS.
ISIS lost its final stronghold in Syria in March 2019. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the support of the US-led Global Coalition, defeated ISIS after fierce battles in the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, bringing an end to the so-called caliphate declared by the terrorist ISIS.
After Baghouz, thousands of ISIS fighters were transferred to prisons, while their families were transferred to Hawl and Roj camps in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)-held areas.
Issue of the family members of the ISIS held in camps in northeast Syria constitutes an ongoing challenge for the non-internationally recognized AANES, which repeatedly demands that the concerned countries repatriate their nationals.
Also, the AANES continues to call on the international powers to provide support for establishing rehabilitation centers and help in tackling the security situation in the facilities were ISIS foreign nationals are held.
Despite many calls, the majority of countries, including those participating in the Global coalition, refuse to repatriate their nationals.
The countryside of Deir ez-Zor witnesses an increase in cases of assassination, targeting members of the SDF, employees of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), tribal leaders and civilians, despite the intensive security operations launched by the SDF.