Speaking to the NPO Radio 1 program Bureau Buitenland, his lawyer said that the Netherlands today deported a British-born Syrian traveler to Turkey. Sufyan Mostafa Kamal (28) has been detained in the Netherlands since 2021 after being arrested by the Marechaussee during a stopover in Schiphol. Internationally recognized.
Kamal is suspected of terrorism in the UK, but the country is not taking him back. His British passport was taken away from him a few years ago as he went to Syria in 2013 to fight against President Assad. According to his lawyer, this was with the Free Syrian Army rebels.
After leaving Syria in 2019, he was arrested in Turkey and eventually released to go to his family in England.
lack of evidence
It was investigated whether Kemal committed a crime in Syria after his arrest in Schiphol. The prosecutor confirmed that the trial was stopped at the end of 2021 due to lack of evidence. After that, Kamal was held in immigration detention in Rotterdam.
According to his lawyer Flip Schüller, Kamal will be brought to Istanbul “with an escort” today. What will happen to him there is unknown. At Bureau Buitenland, Schüller talks about a collusion between the Netherlands and Turkey. “All we know is that Turkey took it back. It sounds pretty mysterious, and it is. It is not clear how he was treated in Turkey.”
The Ministry of Justice and Security says it cannot comment on individual cases.
Syrian revolution
Kemal told the BBC last year why he was going to Syria. “I believed in the Syrian revolution,” he said. “As someone of Arab descent, I felt it was my duty to be there. I have never violated international law or participated in attacks on civilians. I tried to help people suffering in Syria.”
Kamal is the son of radical Islamist cleric Abu Hamza, who was convicted of hate speech in the UK. Abu Hamza is currently serving a life sentence in the United States for terrorist activities.
Source: NOS
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
