Members of Dutch Christian party vote for repatriation of Dutch citizens

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA) party members on Saturday voted in favor of a resolution calling on CDA lawmakers to push the government to repatriate ISIS-affiliated Dutch women and their children in Syria, local Dutch media reports.

CDA representatives in the caretaker government and Dutch parliament oppose repatriation efforts and prefer Dutch nationals with ISIS ties to be put on trial where they are held.

While some argued for compassion to the ISIS families, especially the children, others are more concerned about domestic consequences after repatriation and low jail sentences for convicted ISIS members.

According to the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (​AIVD), there are 30 Dutch women in Roj and al-Hol camps, along with 75 children linked to the Netherlands.

Several European countries have been reluctant to repatriate their citizens due to legal and security risks and domestic opposition to the repatriation of ISIS suspects, despite repeated calls by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the US-led Coalition to do so.

The majority of Syria’s al-Hol camp residents are Iraqis and Syrians, but the camp also includes many foreign families thought to be tied to ISIS. According to the United Nations, there are about 62,000 people still in the camp.

In a ruling in July, A Dutch court gave the Netherlands government a hard deadline of three months to repatriate five women nationals with alleged ties to ISIS.