ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Dutch government has no plans to repatriate nationals with alleged Islamic State (ISIS) ties from Syria and Iraq, state media reported on Wednesday.
“The government’s position is that the prosecution of individuals who have traveled abroad and the enforcement of prison sentences should take place in the region,” the Netherlands’ main public broadcaster, NOS, cited a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying.
“Despite the changing situation in Syria and Iraq, there are currently no plans to bring back individuals who have traveled abroad and have a Dutch connection. If there are requests for repatriation, the cabinet will weigh all circumstances and factors in each individual case, taking into account, among other things, national security," the spokesperson added.
The statement follows the transfer of more than 5,700 ISIS prisoners from Kurdish-held areas of Syria to Iraq. The operation was supervised by the US army and was triggered by weeks of clashes between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
The Dutch government’s position also comes as the interim government in Damascus is relocating the last group of families with alleged ISIS ties from the notorious al-Hol camp in Hasaka province to another camp in Aleppo. Al-Hol held more than 25,000 individuals before the SDF withdrew as the Syrian army advanced last month.
More than 30 Australian nationals were allowed to leave the SDF-run Roj camp in Hasaka province earlier this week after their families traveled from Australia to pick them up. However, a lack of coordination with Damascus and Australia's refusal to take them back forced the individuals to return to the camp.