Eight Dutch people involved in terrorist activities in Syria and Iraq were added to the national terrorist list on Thursday. Their assets will be frozen so that they can no longer access their bank accounts or use their credit cards. ‘By taking this measure we are making it much harder for these people to commit terrorist acts,’ said foreign minister Bert Koenders.
This brings the total number of individuals and organisations on the national terrorist list to 40. Twenty-seven names have been added to the list since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria in late 2013.
It is more difficult for people on the list to make purchases or transfer money to people in the Netherlands who want to join terrorist groups. Providing funds to individuals on the list is a criminal offence.
‘We need to block funding for these people, because they are joint perpetrators of or accessories to the ruthless violence being committed in the region,’ said Mr Koenders. ‘We also need to prevent them from returning to the Netherlands to commit acts of violence here. Freezing their assets reduces this risk.’
The decision to freeze the assets of individuals or organisations is taken jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Security and Justice, the Ministry of Finance and other authorities. This may be based on a conviction by a court, an investigation by the Public Prosecution Service or a person-specific report by the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD).
Under UN Security Council Resolution 1373, the Netherlands is required to take financial measures directed against individuals and organisations that commit or attempt to commit terrorist acts or facilitate such acts.
The national terrorist list is part of the strategy for dealing with people who want to travel abroad to join a terrorist organisation – or foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs), as they are called. This comprehensive strategy comprises an array of measures under administrative and criminal law. For instance, the authorities can revoke a person’s passport.
In addition, the Netherlands is working to combat terrorism at multilateral level, including in the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). It also participates in the international coalition against ISIS (for example by deploying F-16s) and multilateral working groups.
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
