Amsterdam, Netherlands

On Tuesday, the Dutch government in a statement said that they would repatriate 12 women and 28 children from Kurdish-run detention camps in northern Syria. This would make it the largest of its kind operation by the Netherlands yet, said reports. This follows a Dutch court ruling in May, earlier this year, which has ordered that the women be brought back. 

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In a letter to the country’s parliament, Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra and Justice Minister Dilan Yesilgoz-Zegerius said, “The cabinet is transferring 12 Dutch women suspected of terrorist offenses and their 28 children to the Netherlands.” They added that the women will be arrested upon arrival in the country and will be tried. 

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Reports suggest that the Netherlands has long refused to repatriate women from Syrian refugee camps saying that it was their choice to go to the war-torn country. However, a Rotterdam court in May ordered the officials to repatriate these women and their children within the next four months so that their actions do not go “unpunished”. 

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According to Dutch government records, some 300 citizens have gone to Syria and this is not the first such operation conducted by the government as they had repatriated five women and eleven children from a Kurdish refugee camp earlier this year. 

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While the details of the upcoming operations have not been revealed including its location or which camp, the officials have said that children during the trial will be looked after by the Dutch child protection services. So far, at least 5,000 Europeans have gone to Syria, while some have become fighters, others have married militants, said media reports. 

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(With inputs from agencies) 

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