Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court says the government must attempt to bring home children whose mothers traveled to Syria to join Islamic extremist groups.
The decision Monday at a court in The Hague came in a case filed by lawyers on behalf of 23 women and their 56 children who are housed in camps in northern Syria.
The court has ruled that "the children are not responsible for the actions of their parents, however serious they are."
The government has long said it is too dangerous to go to Syria to repatriate Dutch citizens.
The court says the government must "use all possible means," including an offer of U.S. help to repatriate the children. But it also says the state "cannot be ordered to take serious security risks."
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
