Skip to main content
Netherlands News in English

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Aysha and Luca Opdam
Aysha and Luca Opdam - Credit: Aysha and Luca Opdam (Photos: Politie)
Crime
Aysha Opdam
Caliphate
child abduction
Greece
ISIS
Islamic state
kidnapping
Luca Opdam
Maastricht
Onno Hoes
plane tickets
Raqqa
Syria
Tuesday, 17 March 2015 - 07:46

Share this article:

ISIS mother tricked everyone: Maastricht mayor

The mother who kidnapped her children and took them to Syria managed to sneak a way despite the fact that her family, the police and the kids' school knew that she was planning on going, NOS reports. "She had everyone fooled." said Maastricht Mayor Onno Hoes. "We suspected that she was going, but we did not know when." The woman's ex-husband (Aysha and Luca's father) previously informed the police that he suspected that the mother wanted to go to Syria. But there were too few concrete indications that she really was planning to leave. Last year the woman printed plane tickets for a trip to Greece at her kids' school. The school also notified the police. A few days later the woman and two of her children - Aysha (7) and Luca (8) - disappeared. A short time later the woman posted on Facebook that she has arrived in Raqqa, the capital of the ISIS proclaimed caliphate. She managed to travel all the way with two kids despite an international arrest warrant hanging above her head. According to the Public Prosecutor, nothing more could have been done to stop her. "We can not just take away passports. A ticket to Greece is not sufficient, many people go there on vacation."

More like this

Image
The Maastoren, Wilhelminatoren, and the Rotterdam courthouse in August 2016
Syrian arrested in Dutch port city suspected of Christmas terrorist attack plot in Europe
Image
Aerial view of the asylum seeker center in Dronten, Flevoland. 2021
Syrian asylum seeker arrested in the Netherlands on terrorism plot charges
Image
The Leiden courthouse location for the District Court of The Hague. 9 Oct. 2019
Syrian man arrested in Leiden on terrorist charges over Clubhouse app broadcasts
Image
The Maastoren, Wilhelminatoren, and the Rotterdam courthouse in August 2016
Dutch court convicts sisters tied to Islamic State; 3.5 and 2.5 year prison terms
Make NL Times your top Google source

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Dutch poet laureate Lieke Marsman dead at age 35 after lengthy fight against cancer
  • Dutch government prepares new household aid amid elevated inflation, fuel costs
  • A'dam journalist’s son attacked with bike chain lock after story about football violence
  • Dutch health insurance to cover gastric reduction surgery for some teens with obesity
  • Italy agrees to start taking asylum seekers back from the Netherlands from next week

Top stories

  • Dutch companies imported €2 billion worth of dangerous designer drugs from India
  • Rate of birth complications higher in poorer neighborhoods
  • At least 8 Dutch men suspected of drugging, raping, filming their wives, girlfriends
  • Court rules Ye can remain in Netherlands for Arnhem performances this week
  • New A'dam coalition planning parking +tourist tax hike, free public transport for kids

© 2012-2026, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Change Privacy Settings
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Partner Content