A Syrian man (37) believed to have played an important role in the Syrian civil war within the Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist organisations, has been arrested in the Dutch province of South Holland.
The man, whose identity has not been revealed, applied for asylum in the Netherlands in 2019 and settled in the Dutch town of Arkel a year later. After information was received about his past, the International Crimes Team (TIM) of the National Criminal Investigation Department and the Public Prosecution Service started an investigation.
"It is suspected that from his position in ISIS, he also contributed to the war crimes that the organisation committed in Syria," the Dutch Public Prosecution Office announced on Tuesday. Between 2015 and 2018, the man is alleged to have held a "managerial position" in the security service of ISIS, meaning he helped draw up the organisation's policy.
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Before that, he would have held the same position for two years at another terrorist organisation: Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda. He is said to have held both positions in and around the Yarmouk refugee camp (mainly populated by Palestinians) in the south of the Syrian capital Damascus.
The man is accused of numerous crimes between 2015 and 2018 but there are no indications of criminal offences committed in or from the Netherlands, the Public Prosecution Office added. The suspect will appear in court in The Hague on Friday 20 January.
