An 18 year old youth has been arrested in The Hague on suspicion of recruiting people to fight with Muslim rebel groups in Syria.

The youth faces charges of encouraging terrorism. He is also said to have been spreading ‘inflammatory writings’ on the internet. He will appear in court on Friday for a remand hearing.

Police and the public prosecution department declined to release any more details and he has not been named.

Measures

Last week, foreign minister Frans Timmermans told parliament in a briefing that measures are being taken to stop Dutch youngsters going to fight in Syria. Timmermans also said it is a ‘top priority’ to protect Dutch society against returnees.

The security service said last year it estimated 100 Dutch Muslims had travelled to Syria to fight against president Assad. Most of them have ended up in militias run by ISIS, Timmermans said last week.

Video

Meanwhile, a 30-minute video entitled ‘Oh oh Aleppo’ has been placed online by Dutch jihadists in Syria. The makers of the film name themselves the ‘fighting journalists’ and say they come from The Hague.

In the film, masked Dutch men are seen shooting and going through houses which people have abandoned.

Dick Schoof, head of the Dutch counter-terrorism unit NCTV, said in a reaction he is concerned about propaganda films being circulated on internet. Talks are underway at a European level with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other websites to discuss removing such material, he said.