Convicted terrorist caught photographing Dutch air base arrested; released days later

A 19-year-old man convicted of joining a terrorist organization to fight on behalf of ISIS was arrested after taking photos and videos inside a Dutch air base. His criminal record was uncovered after an officer from the Marechaussee stopped him on the Volkel air base last Wednesday, as recording images there is forbidden.

The man was released the following Friday, prosecutors confirmed to RTL Nieuws. There was no evidence that he had committed a crime, or that he was planning to do so, prosecutors told the news outlet.

The suspect was working for a construction company contracted to do excavation work at the base, located just outside of Uden, Noord-Brabant. He was filling in that day for a colleague who called in sick.

Workers on the base are supposed to undergo a background check before entering, RTL stated. "We are investigating what went on to see if we have done something wrong," a Defense Ministry spokesperson told the broadcaster.

The public prosecutor’s office also downplayed the incident.

The suspect was arrested in September 2015 at the border of Turkey and Syria. When convicted in 2016, the court determined that there was no proof he and a co-defendant, both from Arnhem, were going to carry out an attack