Dutch Ministry of Justice to repatriate five people suspected of committing crimes in Syria

AMSTERDAM — Acting Dutch Minister of Justice Ferdinand Grapperhaus announced the Dutch government’s intention to repatriate five people suspected of committing crimes in Syria to prevent them from escaping the detention camps in North and East Syria and to bring them to justice in the Netherlands. Their crimes are serious and cannot go unpunished, he added.

In a letter sent to the Tweedekamer, the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, Grapperhaus stated that he would talk with other international partners to find ways to transfer these people who traveled to the region to join the Islamic State (ISIS) from the detention camps in North and East Syria.

“If they are not repatriated as soon as possible, we will not be able, in principle, to prosecute them for the crimes they are accused of,” he said. “Their crimes are serious and should not go unpunished.”

This decision was taken after an order from a Rotterdam court which granted the government 3–6 months to repatriate five Dutch women who are in Syria. The five women have been demanding to be repatriated to the Netherlands since 2018.

According to the latest report issued by the Dutch Intelligence Service, there are 330 Dutch nationals in Syria and Iraq, including 210 children who have at least one parent who is a Dutch national.