The mayors of the four major cities express their serious concerns in a confidential letter to the cabinet, which is in the hands of RTL Nieuws. The G4 mayors want Justice and Security Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz to take responsibility for this group of ex-jihadists.
Terrorist Crime
Withdrawal of Dutch citizenship after a terrorist offense has been possible since 2010. Since 2017, this is also possible if someone has joined terrorist organizations such as Islamic State or al-Qaeda. The passport can only be taken away if the person in question still has a second nationality.
This measure has now been carried out at least 45 times, the IND confirms. Dutch citizenship has been revoked for about 20 people from the four major cities, the mayors write.
According to the mayors, the security risks are great if the nationality is revoked because ‘it is impossible to predict how someone will react to such a measure’. The possibilities of monitoring former jihadists without a Dutch passport are ‘virtually nil’, they warn. The mayors argue for a greater role for the AIVD intelligence service in assessing security risks.
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Revocation of nationality is happening more and more
Not every former jihadist whose Dutch citizenship has been revoked ends up here on the streets. In total, the IND has tried in recent years to revoke Dutch nationality for 45 people because of terrorism, the service says in response to questions from RTL Nieuws. Sixteen withdrawals are irrevocable, the other cases are still pending.
24 of them were staying abroad at the time (two of them were sent by Turkey last year still deported to the Netherlands). In eight cases the judge drew a line due to the withdrawal or the IND did so itself due to legal complications.
The other 21 were convicted of terrorism in the Netherlands, are now in prison or have already been released. The IND cannot say exactly how many ex-jihadists are staying illegally in the Netherlands.
The probation service says it currently has seven files under management of persons who are free under supervision, but who cannot build a life in the Netherlands due to the withdrawal of their nationality. Five people who lost their Dutch citizenship independently cooperated in their departure, mostly to Morocco.
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According to the probation service, the withdrawal of nationality – a lengthy process – hangs like a sword of Damocles over former jihadists who try to rebuild their lives after prison. A government that offers guidance on the one hand and revokes nationality on the other is contradictory and could cause some to revert to the old radical behavior, the institution warns.
Attack ultimate risk
Terrorism expert Jelle van Buuren (Leiden University) agrees. According to him, it is not inconceivable that a former jihadist will go wrong again because of his hopeless situation in illegality. “An attack can be an ultimate risk, but the threat is also there in other ways,” says Van Buuren. “The ideology can be spread again or become a kind of status symbol for new generations of jihadists. So these people can play an important role in the jihadist environment in different ways and that is precisely what we do not want.”
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There is a fear that jihadists will disappear under the radar after their sentence. In their letter to the cabinet, the mayors explicitly ask Yeşilgöz whether she, and not the municipalities, will take responsibility for this group. In doing so, they protect themselves against the moment that an ex-jihadist would make another mistake after losing his nationality. The mayors of the G4 were not available to explain their letter.
Danger greater
Mayor Achmed Marcouch of Arnhem, from whose municipality come five jihadists whose nationality is revoked by the IND, would like to say something about it. “The measure is intended to make society safer, by taking away someone’s nationality and deporting them. If you do take away but do not deport, you only increase the danger to society.”
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The NCTV warned in its so-called Threat image even for a growing group of ex-jihadists who will be released in the near future and do not want to leave the Netherlands. “This situation could potentially lead to an increased threat to national security.”
Unwanted stranger
Anyone who loses their nationality is also declared an undesirable alien and can therefore no longer apply for a bank account, benefit, housing or health insurance.
Assistance, and thus supervision of the return to society, is also very difficult, because it is not permitted by law for an institution to help unwanted aliens. According to lawyers, they usually stay on the couch with friends and family. They are often required to report weekly to the police, so that they can temporarily keep track of this target group.
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Voluntary leave
Most former IS supporters still have Moroccan nationality when they have lost their Dutch nationality. But the government in the capital Rabat has for years not cooperated in the return of Moroccan citizens if they do not want to return. There are also complications in other countries.
The Netherlands cannot detain these unwanted aliens. Immigration detention, detention pending deportation, is only allowed if there is a prospect of a concrete departure date, the Council of State ruled in 2021.
According to the IND, five former IS supporters have left for the country of second nationality, usually Morocco, after withdrawing their Dutch citizenship. This was voluntary, there was no question of coercion or deportation. “In all cases, the foreign national cooperated to a greater or lesser extent in the departure”, the IND acknowledges.
think magically
As for regular asylum seekers, the deportation policy for former jihadists is voluntary, explains terrorism expert Van Buuren. “We all know that leaving is actually fiction, a kind of magical thinking that people leave because it has been agreed that way. But the result is that it hardly happens, if at all.”
The probation service, which is working with a special team on the reintegration of ex-prisoners with a history of terrorism, expects that there will be ‘a considerable number of cases’ in which ex-prisoners will be deprived of their passports. When the legislation was extended in February, responsible minister Yeşilgöz also announced that she would continue to try ‘where possible’ to revoke the Dutch citizenship of jihadists.
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Van Buuren is skeptical and warns that it would be better to only deprive the passport if it is certain that someone can also be deported. “The legislation is counterproductive in that regard, the idea was that the safety of the Netherlands would be increased in this way. In practice, you could argue that this actually leads to more insecurity.”
Marcouch also believes that decreasing nationality does not work in practice. “It is the minister who takes away the nationality and it is the minister who must ensure that such a person is deported. If she does not live up to this, such a measure is counterproductive and then that responsibility must ultimately lie with the minister.”
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Security services
Minister Yeşilgöz says in a response that convicted terrorists are put in immigration detention ‘where possible’ after their sentence to work on their departure, but acknowledges that this does not always work. “If departure is not immediately successful, the Aliens Police, Identification and Human Trafficking (AVIM), part of the police, monitors this group. In these cases, supervision usually consists of a reporting obligation and an area order.”
If necessary, agencies such as the AIVD will also keep an eye on things, even after release, according to the minister. In addition, the intelligence and security services are continuously investigating developments in the threat, even if radicalized persons are in detention or are released after serving their sentence.
In response to the confidential letter from the mayors, Yeşilgöz does not want to say much, but it does not appear that her ministry will take over. “The approach does not stand or fall by one measure by one organization, but by taking measures integrally,” says the minister.
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Mohammed G. not deported: ‘Playing a game’
One of the 45 people whose nationality has been revoked, but who does not want to leave, is Mohammed G., who has both Dutch and Iraqi nationality. He was convicted several times for terrorist offenses and will not be released until 2025.
Mohammed G. cannot be forced to return to Iraq after his release because Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights protects him. It states that anyone who runs a real risk of torture or death should not be deported.
The IND acknowledges that G. cannot be deported after his release, but withdraws his Dutch citizenship anyway. “This only means that the person concerned will not be deported to his country of origin for the time being. However, this does not mean that he is not under any obligation to leave.”
In 2021, G. sent a letter from detention to De Limburger newspaper about the loss of his nationality. “Politics is playing a game with me but I can play that game too,” he wrote. “If The Hague does not give me a way out to leave within 1 year, I will never leave the Netherlands again. I will be like a worm in the apple in society. Unwanted but still annoyingly present.”
G’s lawyer Cliff Raafs is litigating against the revocation of his client’s nationality. The Council of State is expected to rule in this case in November.
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