The Dutch teen whose mother rescued from Islamic State (IS) in Syria is expected in court on suspicion of threatening state security.  19-year old “Aicha” had run away earlier this year to marry a high-ranking IS fighter, but her mother went to the IS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria to bring her back.

The closed-door hearing will determine how long Aicha will be detained, now that’s she’s back on Dutch soil.  The prosecution is seeking more time to examine evidence against the girl, and her contact with her ex-husband Omar Yilmaz, a Dutch-Turkish fighter who had once served in the Dutch military and has been described as a trainer for IS and other militant groups. 

Aicha is one of a small number of European teenage girls and women who have gone to Syria and Iraq in recent months.  The usual pattern is that they fall in love with the terrorists through social media, seeing the men as modern day Robin Hoods instead of as the murderous scum that they are.  In the case of two underage Austrian girls, things went badly very quickly.  Both contacted their families in Austria to say they made a mistake and wanted to come home, but shortly thereafter one of the girl was killed in the middle east.