Two Dutch terror suspects arrested in Suriname
Two Dutch-Surinamese persons were arrested in Suriname on Sunday on suspicion of involvement in terrorist activities, the Surinamese Ministry of Justice and Police announced on Tuesday. There are no indications of an immediate threat, the statement said, according to NU.nl.
"Until now, facts and circumstances and investigation have not yet revealed that the suspects would have posed risk to a mission or embassy established here", the Ministry said.
Local newspaper De West reported that the United States ambassador to Paramaribo is a target of ISIS terrorists and that the suspects were arrested based on information from the American authorities. The Ministry denies this, saying that the suspects were arrested based on information from Surinamese intelligence services and witnesses.
The two Dutch are only two among several suspects arrested, according to NU.nl. No further information about the detainees was released.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs doesn't yet have information about the arrested Dutch suspects "We are looking into what is at hand", a spokesperson said, according to NU.nl. The national office of the Public Prosecutor also couldn't shed light on the matter. "It's a Surinamese investigation", a spokesperson said.
The parents of the two Dutch approached lawyer Raoul Lobo on Monday, hiring him to represent their sons. The suspects are being kept in a secret place and the lawyer hasn't been able to speak to them yet. He expects to do so in the short term, however. "It's all very secretive now, but they will be allowed to make contact." Lobo is a Dutch lawyer whose been active in Suriname for a long time, according to the newspaper.
