Country Reports on Terrorism 2014 - The Netherlands
Publisher | United States Department of State |
Publication Date | 19 June 2015 |
Cite as | United States Department of State, Country Reports on Terrorism 2014 - The Netherlands, 19 June 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5587c73b15.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Overview: The Netherlands continued to respond effectively to the global terrorist threat in the areas of border and transportation security, counterterrorist financing, countering violent extremism, and bilateral and international counterterrorism cooperation. Cooperation with U.S. law enforcement remained excellent. In its March 2013 quarterly terrorism threat assessment, the Dutch National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) raised the national threat level from "limited" to "substantial," the second highest rank, indicating the chance of a terrorist attack is considered realistic. The main factor for elevating the threat level was the uptick in the number of Dutch nationals travelling to conflict areas, especially Syria, as foreign terrorist fighters. The Brussels shooting in May, and Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) beheadings in late summer, combined with some pro-ISIL demonstrations in the Netherlands, propelled the threat of ISIL-based extremism to the top of the political agenda. In response, the Dutch government released a Comprehensive Action Program to Combat Jihadism in August that included both existing and proposed measures to halt the flow of foreign terrorist fighters to Syria and elsewhere. The plan focused on risk reduction, travel intervention, disruption of recruiters, countering radicalization, addressing the use of social media, and information exchange and cooperation. Some new measures require a legislative change; others can be achieved through a change in policy or enforcement. Resilience by the Dutch population to terrorism and violent extremism remained high.
The Netherlands is implementing UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 2170 and 2178. The Dutch government prevents outbound foreign terrorist fighters from leaving the country, when possible, through punitive and administrative measures (e.g., revoking passports or halting social welfare benefits). The government pursued criminal cases against prospective and returned foreign terrorist fighters and against foreign terrorist fighter recruiters. The government's strategy to counter ISIL propaganda has a domestic focus: supporting opposing voices in the affected communities and suggesting to internet providers that they compare content of sites to their terms of use (Notice and Take Action). The Comprehensive Action Program to Combat Jihadism expresses plans to survey and propagate a list of online violent extremist websites to raise awareness with communities, parents, and professionals.
On September 24, the government announced its membership of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL. The Netherlands is represented in Combined Forces Command CENTCOM, which coordinates the mission. The Netherlands has conducted air strikes and contributed military personnel and trainers in Iraq.
Legislation, Law Enforcement, and Border Security: The Netherlands continued to use counterterrorism legislation and legislation that supplements the criminal code to address terrorism. On September 4, the government submitted draft legislation to Parliament regarding the revocation of Dutch citizenship for dual citizens after a conviction for preparing to commit a terrorist act. On December 18, the Ministry of Security and Justice began the consultation process on draft legislation to revoke citizenship, without a court ruling, of dual national foreign terrorist fighters who have joined a designated terrorist organization.
The Netherlands' law enforcement institutions effectively demonstrated their capacity to detect, deter, and respond to terrorist threats. The reorganization of the police into one National Police structure that began in January 2013 continued in 2014 and is scheduled to be completed in 2016. This multi-year, country-wide reorganization effort is expected to improve police's operational capacity and effectiveness. The Central Criminal Investigations Service of the National Police focuses on counterterrorism.
The Netherlands continued to strengthen its border security. Dutch ports of entry have biographic and biometric screening capabilities. The government coordinates and shares information related to foreign terrorist fighters with Interpol and Europol. The Netherlands makes efforts to prevent potential foreign terrorist fighters from traveling to the region; as of December 2014 it had revoked 53 passports of potential foreign terrorist fighters.
The Netherlands remained strongly committed to effective cooperation with the United States on border security. The Port of Rotterdam was the first European port to participate in the Container Security Initiative (CSI); in 2014 the two governments held discussions to have CSI go from a WMD-focused initiative to incorporate all threats.
Significant law enforcement actions related to counterterrorism included:
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On May 15, authorities arrested a returned foreign terrorist fighter who allegedly planned to commit armed robbery to fund foreign terrorist fighters in Syria. His case was awaiting trial at year's end.
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On June 13, the prosecutor's office appealed a 2011 verdict on five members of the Dutch chapter of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to seek higher sentences. They are charged with membership of a terrorist organization and raising funds (often through coercion) for the LTTE. In 2011, they had been sentenced to between two and six years in prison. The case was awaiting further proceedings at year's end.
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On June 24, authorities arrested one suspect on charges of incitement, recruitment, and forming a criminal organization with terrorist intent. The case was in investigative proceedings at year's end.
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On August 6, Belgian police arrested two Dutch people at the Brussels Airport on charges of membership of a terrorist group, illegal weapons possession in a terrorist context, and financing terrorism. Dutch police officers are cooperating with the Belgian police on the case.
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On August 27-28, authorities arrested two suspects on charges of incitement, recruitment, and forming criminal organization with terrorist intent. The case is connected to the June 24 arrest and was under investigative proceedings at year's end.
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On October 15, authorities arrested a man on suspicion of planning ISIL-inspired terrorist acts against local Amsterdam police officers.
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On November 25, authorities arrested three suspects on suspicion of preparing to commit terrorist acts in Syria. Three other individuals are considered suspects but were not arrested.
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On December 1, a district court sentenced a returned Dutch foreign terrorist fighter to three years in prison for preparing to commit murder with terrorist intent. This was the first trial of a returned foreign terrorist fighter from Syria and implemented the Dutch prosecution's strategy to charge individuals with preparation for (extraterritorial) crimes when there is insufficient evidence the crime was committed.
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Also on December 1, a district court acquitted a woman from charges of recruiting four girls and two men to travel to Syria. The court argued that traveling to Syria in order to marry a foreign terrorist fighter does not constitute participating in the violent conflict; therefore recruiting young girls to marry foreign terrorist fighters is not recruiting for the violent conflict. The court also ruled that because the two men were the husband and former husband of the woman, and already radicalized, her encouraging them to go to Syria did not constitute recruitment. The prosecutor's office announced plans to appeal.
Countering the Financing of Terrorism: The Netherlands has been a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since 1990 and is one of the Cooperating and Supporting Nations of the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force, a FATF-style regional body. In its February 2014 report, FATF recognized that the Netherlands had made significant progress in addressing the deficiencies from the 2011 evaluation and should subsequently be removed from the follow-up process. The European Commission sets many rules for countering terrorist finance in directives that EU member states then implement via national legislation. The Netherlands cooperated with the United States in designating terrorist organizations and individuals as well as interdicting and freezing assets. Dutch authorities monitor financial transactions. Assets of persons on terrorist watch lists are frozen.
Assets are frozen immediately when an individual or entity receives a UN designation. The Netherlands also use EU listings and its own national designations. The list of individuals or entities is made public, but information on the amount of assets frozen or seized is not. As of December 2014, the assets of 18 individuals and three organizations were frozen. In May, Dutch authorities arrested a former Syrian fighter for attempting to commit crimes to raise funds for Syrian extremists.
Non-profit organizations may choose to apply to a private entity for a "seal of approval" certification for their financial transactions. Law enforcement can access this entity's data based on court order. The FATF concluded that the requirements that have to be met in order to obtain this "seal of approval" are stringent. These requirements include knowing donors and beneficiaries and having safeguards to make sure directors and employees do not have a conflict of interests.
For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.
Regional and International Cooperation: The Netherlands sought bilateral, multilateral, and international opportunities for exchanging information and experiences on security, counterterrorism, and foreign terrorist fighter issues. The Netherlands is a founding member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) and, in 2013, the Netherlands and Morocco proposed a Foreign Terrorist Fighters Initiative under the auspices of the GCTF. Several meetings organized in 2014, held in The Hague, Marrakech, and Abu Dhabi, led to the "The Hague-Marrakech Memorandum on Good Practices for a More Effective Response to the Foreign Terrorist Fighter Phenomenon" adopted on September 23 at the GCTF ministerial meeting. During this ministerial, the Netherlands and Morocco recommended a new working group on foreign terrorist fighters be established under the GCTF. This new working group, co-chaired by the Netherlands and Morocco, was inaugurated at a plenary meeting in Marrakech on December 15-16. The Dutch participated in an informal EU core group of 11 member states that focused on foreign terrorist fighters.
The Dutch have taken a lead role in the EU to establish protocols to combat terrorist finance and provide funds to the IMF for assistance to countries that lack the resources to implement these measures expeditiously. The Dutch cooperated with EU and OSCE counterterrorism efforts and contributed to the counterterrorism work of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. The Netherlands hosted the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit and continued to chair the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism's Nuclear Detection Working Group.
The Netherlands continued to finance a wide variety of counterterrorism capacity building projects such as the organization Free Press Unlimited in its project "Radio Life Link Somalia" and the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation on its program on rule of law and criminal justice capacity and cooperation in North Africa. The government also supported the International Centre for Migration Policy Development and programs related to terrorism and countering terrorist finance carried out by the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate. The Dutch government provided assistance to the International Center of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism in Abu Dhabi and is a founding member of the International Institute for Justice and the Rule of Law in Malta.
The Dutch government continued to work with the International Centre for Counterterrorism (ICCT) – an independent think tank on counterterrorism issues, established in The Hague in 2010 with Dutch government encouragement. The ICCT is implementing programs related to the collection and use of evidence collected by the military in the criminal prosecution of terrorist cases, the role victims can play in counter-radicalization, and rule of law capacity building projects in the criminal justice sector.
Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: CVE is integrated into the Dutch government's approach to terrorism. The government's strategy on CVE is the August 2014 Comprehensive Action Program to Combat Jihadism, which contains eight existing and proposed measures specifically focused on detecting radicalization and preventing new people from becoming foreign terrorist fighters. These include increased cooperation with Muslim communities, strengthening existing networks of local and national key figures, providing support to concerned citizens, supporting education institutions, setting up expert centers on social tensions and radicalization, directing actions at high-risk areas, mobilizing societal opposition and enhancing resilience against radicalization and tensions, and stimulating social debate about the values of democracy such as rule of law.
Local governments are responsible for countering radicalization to local governments with support such as tools and training provided by the NCTV. Many major cities are investing heavily in training local professionals. However, following the 2013 surge of foreign terrorist fighters to Syria and Iraq (as of December 22, 2014 Dutch officials reported there were 168 known foreign terrorist fighters from the Netherlands), the NCTV and the General Intelligence and Security Service increased support to local authorities and partners. This support includes identifying high-priority areas that are of interest to, or might host, radicalized individuals. The NCTV also invests in information systems that combine reports and red flags from different sources in order to assess potential threats by violent extremists.
The Comprehensive Action Program addresses combating pro-violent extremist content on social media and the internet. The government tracks extremist content and uses administrative measures to stop the online spread of terrorist propaganda. Website hosting companies were requested to check the content of hosted websites against their user policies (Notice and Take Down).
Programs are created and tailored by local governments around individuals of concern and focus on identification, investigation, and prosecution. Targets of the program include those who are becoming radicalized, those who want to go to Syria and Iraq, recruiters, and foreign terrorist fighter returnees. Partners involved may include, but are not limited to: the municipal government, police, the public prosecutor's office, youth care, and child protection services. Interventions on radicalizing individuals remain case-specific and vary in intensity and design. Several local governments have joined forces with a non-profit organization that coordinates interagency, individualized programs for at-risk or radicalized individuals. After returning to the Netherlands, foreign terrorist fighters undergo a threat assessment by the government. Some returnees are prosecuted. The Netherlands also rehabilitates and reintegrates returned foreign terrorist fighters into mainstream society.