Dutch journalist knew about ex's terrorist past, Prosecutor says

Journalist Ans Boersma knew that her ex-boyfriend Abd A. belonged to al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group Jabat Al Nustra. Tapped conversations show that he told her, the Public Prosecutor said in a pro-forma hearing against the man, ANP reports.

The 33-year-old man from Syria is suspected of participating in a terrorist organization, and involvement in attacks in Syria with many fatalities.

In the bugged conversations, A. said that Boersma knew what happened in Syria because she read his Twitter account when he hadn't locked his iPad, according to the Prosecutor. 

In September 2017 A. was recognized as a jihadist fighter in the De Balie debate center in Amsterdam by activists from the group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently. The group was watching documentary City of Ghosts at the time, which shows Raqqa turning into a ghost town as the capital of the ISIS caliphate. A. was arrested in his home in Amsterdam at the end of October.

Boersma, who lived and worked as a Financieele Dagblad correspondent in Turkey, was arrested and deported from the country in January. The Dutch Public Prosecutor suspects her of forgery, saying that she helped her ex with a visa application using false information. According to the Prosecutor, A. used at least three false passports.

Boersma since filed a civil lawsuit against the Dutch State. She holds the Netherlands liable for the emotional and material damages she suffered as a result of the deportation.