The Dutch government said Tuesday that it will bring back 12 Dutch women suspected of terrorist offenses from northern Syria along with 28 children.
The government said the group of women and their children are already on their way. Upon their arrival in the Netherlands, the women will be arrested and brought to trial, whereas the children will be handed over to the Child Protection Board.
The women with Dutch nationality have stayed in special camps in northern Syria with their children. A court in Rotterdam ruled in May this year that the suspects had to be brought back to the Netherlands quickly for their trials. If the women were not repatriated, the criminal cases against them would be dropped, the court warned.
"With the transfer to the Netherlands, the government aims to prevent these 12 suspects from remaining with impunity," Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yesiligoz and Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra wrote in a letter to the parliament.
