Dutch citizen accused of wanting to join Kurdish forces denied bail
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A 37-year old man currently in jail in the Netherlands stands accused of seeking to join Kurdish armed forces in northern Syria or the Kurdistan Region, according to Dutch media reports.
“I haven’t even fought,” the unidentified man is reported as saying. Despite preparing since January 2019 to join Kurdish fighters in the region, he was denied entry into Iraq, Dutch newspaper De Gelderlander reported.
According to Dutch judicial authorities, the man contacted a woman through Facebook to learn “about and [how to] support the revolution.” Last April he traveled to Germany, from where he planned to travel on to the Kurdistan Region and possibly northern Syria.
He was allegedly researching how to join either Peshmerga forces in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq or Kurdish forces in Syria affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Dutch authorities have also accused the man of procuring military uniforms. After his arrest, a psychologist visited the man in Vught prison but he refused to cooperate, the report said.
His lawyer has asked that the man be released on bail ahead of a hearing scheduled for May 10, but the court refused on the grounds that he is uncooperative.
The case is not the first time that Dutch authorities have investigated volunteers suspected of joining Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State (ISIS) militants.
In June 2020 a Dutch court sentenced a Dutch Kurdish man who served with Kurdish forces in Syria to 240 hours of community service and a six-month suspended sentence.
Read More: Dutch Kurd sentenced to community service for fighting ISIS in Syria
In 2016, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service withdrew a case against the most well-known Dutch volunteer with Kurdish forces in Syria, Jitse Akse, due to a lack of evidence.
Another Dutch man known by the name Andok was arrested in 2019 on allegations had “participated in armed combat” in northern Syria. It’s unclear if his case is still ongoing.
Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly