By RTL News··Amended:
RTL
A 16-year-old Dutch teenager is in custody on suspicion of participating in a terrorist organization. The organization in question is The Base, a right-wing extremist paramilitary organization that is active internationally.
The organization has been on the national sanctions list for terrorism since the beginning of this year and has been regarded as a terrorist organization throughout Europe since August.
He was arrested last month, together with two Dutch men aged 19 and 26. All three are suspected of incitement to terrorism. According to the Public Prosecution Service, they incited others in chat groups to commit terrorist crimes, among other things, and are therefore suspected of incitement to terrorism.
The Base
According to terrorism researcher Jelle van Buuren, affiliated with Leiden University, the ideology of The Base can be described as ‘fiercely extreme right’. “Actually just Nazism, in which Hitler is admired and applauded. Symbols such as the swastika are used frequently.”
Van Buuren continues: “They are very clearly anti-Semitic, against women, against people of color, against liberal politicians. The enemy is anyone who is not white and not a heterosexual man. This group rejects democracy and wants to create as much chaos as possible.”
‘Racist and anti-Semitic’
According to the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV), the organization aims to ‘unleash a violent revolution’. “They want to overthrow the existing political system and see violence as a necessary means to spread their racist and anti-Semitic ideology and realize their goals.”
It is not the first time that someone has been arrested in the Netherlands for participating in The Base. In 2021, a man was sentenced to six months in prison for participating in the terrorist organization. He also intended to carry out an attack on then Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The suspects aged 16, 19 and 26 appeared in court last Tuesday, where it was decided that all three suspects will remain in custody for 30 days. The case of the minor suspect is being handled under juvenile criminal law. He is therefore also suspected of participating in a terrorist organisation.
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