Twelve women will be in court on Tuesday and Wednesday on suspicion of terrorist crimes. They were believed to be members of the Islamic State (IS). One of them is suspected of having used a Yazidi woman as a slave.
That case is a first. It is the first time that someone in the Netherlands has been tried for a crime against Yazidis.
The Yazidis are a religious and ethnic Kurdish minority who mainly live in northern Iraq. There they were attacked by IS from 2014.
Hundreds of thousands of Yazidis fled into the mountains. Thousands of men were killed there by IS and buried in mass graves. Women and children were kidnapped and abused. According to the United Nations (UN), IS committed genocide against the population.
The woman who is believed to be a member of IS and will be tried on Tuesday is said to have used a Yazidi woman as a slave in 2015. She is suspected of a crime against humanity.
Another woman who is due to appear in court on Tuesday is suspected of looting. The ten other suspects are suspected to have been members of a terrorist organization.
Women brought back from Syria in November
The twelve women were brought back from Syria in November. At that time they were in camps and lived in poor conditions. Their return was controversial, fearing for national security.
Nevertheless, the cabinet decided to bring back the women and their 28 children to ensure that they would not escape their punishment. They were immediately arrested upon arrival. The children were handed over to the Child Protection Board.
The suspects all have Dutch nationality and could come to the Netherlands if they had not been picked up and arrested. “Then we can no longer keep an eye on them and that is a risk I cannot take,” said Minister Dilan Yesilgöz (Justice and Security) at the time.
On Tuesday, seven women will appear in court in Rotterdam. At the end of the afternoon, the hearing is against the suspect who used a Yazidi woman as a slave. The cases against another five former IS women will follow on Wednesday.
In all cases it is a pro forma session. It is not yet known when the substantive treatment of the cases will start. In recent years, several women have been convicted for their IS membership.
