Human rights organization Muslim Rights Watch is suing the Dutch state in connection with the 35-year-old Tilburg citizen who has been stuck in Spain for more than six weeks. According to the authorities there, he is said to be a member of a terrorist cell in Arnhem. He himself says that he got into trouble because the Netherlands shared incorrect information with Spain. Muslim Rights Watch accuses the state of not taking action to free the Brabander.
The Tilburg citizen, who has a Moroccan background, was arrested on July 24 in a hotel in Burgos, a city in the north of Spain, while he was on holiday with his wife. “They had spent the night there and were on a road trip through Europe towards Morocco,” his brother-in-law previously told Omroep Brabant. “After breakfast there was suddenly a bang on the door of their hotel room and officers took him away. My sister was left stunned.”
The man is said to be a member of a jihadist group in Arnhem, where he grew up. But in the Netherlands he is not in the picture as a terror suspect. A week ago he went on a hunger strike against his detention.
In the Netherlands, it is estimated that dozens of people are wrongly placed on a terror list. The police once put them on a list of suspects, which is shared with the European Union or Interpol. Outgoing Minister of Justice and Security Yesilgöz confirmed earlier this year that citizens are wrongly included on such a list, but that they must take action themselves to resolve this.
On Wednesday it was also announced that Tilburg mayor Theo Weterings, together with his colleague Ahmed Marcouch from Arnhem, had sent a letter to the Public Prosecution Service in Spain. In it they call on the Public Prosecution Service to immediately release the man and return him to the Netherlands.
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