Council of State reinstates jihadist's Dutch nationality in her children's interest

The Council of State annulled a decision by the State Secretary of Justice and Security to revoke the Dutch citizenship of a woman who went to join ISIS in 2013. According to the highest administrative court, the State Secretary paid too little attention to the interest of the woman's minor Dutch children when revoking her citizenship.

According to the authorities, the woman left for Syria in 2013, married an ISIS jihadist, openly glorified the terrorist organization, and posed with an automatic firearm. She had two children in Syria. In 2019, she and her children reported to the Dutch embassy in Turkey and were brought back to the Netherlands. She's been in prison in the Netherlands since.

The State Secretary properly substantiated why he considered the woman a threat to public order and national security. But revoking her citizenship must also be explicitly tested against Article 8 of the European Court of Human Rights case law, which establishes the right to family and private life. According to the Council of State, the State Secretary should have included the interest of the two Dutch children when deciding to revoke their mother's citizenship.

"The State Secretary has not done this properly," the Council of State said, considering that the children have lived in the Netherlands since the end of 2019 and go to school here. The Council of State, therefore, annulled the decision to revoke the woman's Dutch citizenship and declare her an unwanted alien.