Rotterdam woman who joined ISIS given 4 years in prison

Fatima H. has been sentenced to four years in prison by the Rotterdam court for participation in a terrorist organization. Fatima traveled to Syria in 2013 at the age of 17 to join ISIS. She stayed in Syria until the fall of the caliphate in 2019.

The judge found Fatima was guilty of actively participating in the terrorist organization. According to the court, Fatima adhered to the ideology of ISIS, married a jihadist and took care of him so that he was able to perform tasks for ISIS. Fatima also created multiple social media posts encouraging other people to travel to Syria.

Her defense claimed that Fatima believed she was going to Syria to help orphans. She was supposedly unaware of the atrocities of ISIS and that her husband was a jihadist, the Telegraaf stated.

She was one of the first European citizens to report to the Turkish embassy to return to the Netherlands after the defeat of ISIS.

Fatima is required to remain in prison for at least 16 months at which time she will be eligible for a conditional release from custody. In addition, her Dutch citizenship was revoked last December. After serving her sentence, she will have to leave the Netherlands.

Fatima also has a Moroccan passport. Her two young children live with relatives in her hometown, Tilburg.