ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Dutch court deemed the necessity of repatriating dozens of mothers and children affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) from northeast Syria (Rojava) in order to ensure the women are prosecuted, media outlets reported on Thursday.
In a closed session on Wednesday, a court in Netherlands’ Rotterdam city called for the retrieval of 12 Dutch women and their 29 children held in camps in Rojava within four months, before the country loses the right to prosecute them, Netherlands public broadcasting system NOS reported.
“The Netherlands wants to prosecute women who have gone to Syria to join the terrorist group,” it added.
This is the first time a Dutch court rules to deliver a verdict to such a big number of people in a single hearing.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested thousands of ISIS fighters along with their wives and children when they took control of the group’s last stronghold in Syria in March 2019. Most of these people are held at al-Hol and Roj camps.
Al-Hol camp, the largest of the two camps, houses around 56,000, according to UN numbers.
On Wednesday, Netherlands’ Public Prosecution Service demanded a jail term of eight years for the first Dutch woman repatriated by the government from Syria, according to NOS.
Rojava authorities have repeatedly called on governments to take responsibility for their citizens, but most Western nations are reluctant to repatriate nationals who may be a security risk due to their links with ISIS. Most countries repatriate on a case-by-case basis, prioritizing children.
The Netherlands has resisted repatriating its nationals because of concerns over the security of both people who would be involved in the repatriation in "dangerous" northern Syria and the Netherlands as a whole. Regardless, a number of Dutch people have been repatriated from the camps since.
In February, it repatriated five Dutch women and 11 children from Roj camp.
