The OM (Openbaar Ministerie, AKA Public Prosecution Service) has reported the arrest of a 37-year-old Syrian man in Arkel, a small town in South Holland.
In a press release, they state that the man is suspected of having been involved with terrorist organisations Jabhat al-Nursa and the Islamic State.
Security chief turned asylum seeker
The arrested man is said to have been chief of security at the IS between 2015 and 2018. Prior to that, he allegedly held the same position at Jabhat al-Nusra for two years.
From his position at IS, the suspect would have been involved in war crimes committed by the organisation during the Syrian Civil War.
In 2019, the man applied for asylum in the Netherlands, and settled in Arkel in 2020.
After information about his past had come to light, the TIM (International Crimes Team) started investigating. He will now be brought before the examining magistrate in The Hague on January 20.
Not the first time
As the NOS writes, there have been previous cases of Syrians living in the Netherlands being arrested on suspicion of ties with the Islamic State or the Jabhat al-Nursa.
In 2021, a Syrian man was arrested at a centre for asylum seekers in Friesland. He had been involved in terrorist acts by the IS and other groups across Syria and Iraq.
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Another case is that of Aziz A., who, in 2021, was sentenced to 15 years and nine months in prison. He had a high-ranking position within Jabhat al-Nursa from 2011 to 2014.
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