Syrian fighter returned to Belgium with three children

Noura Firoud was seventeen years old when she left for Syria in 2013 with Houssien Elouassaki, a figurehead of Sharia4Belgium. When he died, Firoud remarried another Syria fighter from Vilvoorde, Ali Houdaifa Ammi. He too had left for Syria in 2013, but there is no trace of him anymore. He may have been killed by other IS fighters. The man was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison at the Sharia4Belgium trial.

Shortly after her departure, the prosecutor’s office prosecuted Firoud for participating in the activities of a terrorist group and recruiting fighters, but because the young woman was in Syria, no measure could be imposed on her at the time.

In February 2019, the Brussels criminal court sentenced her in absentia to a five-year prison term. The court ruled that Firoud had provided domestic assistance to her husband, started a family with him, and raised and cared for their three children. In the eyes of the court, this showed that she had actively served ISIS.

Detention center

Firoud had three children in Syria, who are now three, five and six years old. With them, she presented herself to the Turkish authorities in August, after which she was held in a detention center. She returned to Belgium on Thursday.

“On arrival she will be taken to prison,” reports the Halle-Vilvoorde prosecutor’s office. ‘We first check the physical and psychological health of the children. Subsequently, an appropriate framework is provided for them. In order to give this framework every chance of success, it is important not to give details about this. In this context we invite the media to respect the privacy of the children as much as possible so that their return and reintegration can take place in complete serenity. As in other files about minors, the Halle-Vilvoorde public prosecutor’s office does not release any details about the concrete protective measures. ‘