Denmark charges women evacuated from Syrian detention camps

Attorney Mette Grith Stage, who represents one of three women that have been repatriated to Denmark from Syria, speaks with the media as she arrives for a hearing at a court in Esbjerg, Denmark October 7, 2021. Claus Fisker/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS

Danish police said on Thursday three Danish women, who were evacuated from Syrian detention camps along with their 14 children, had been charged with aiding terrorist activities and illegally travelling to and residing in conflict zones.

Danish authorities decided in May to evacuate the women, who were being held in northeastern Syria due to their association with Islamic State, following political pressure and the threat of a no-confidence vote from parliament.

The women and children were evacuated from the al-Roj camp on Wednesday with the help of the United States and Germany, with Germany also taking in eight other mothers and 23 children from the camps.

Attorney Mette Grith Stage, who represents one of three women that have been repatriated to Denmark from Syria, speaks with the media as she arrives for a hearing at a court in Esbjerg, Denmark October 7, 2021. Claus Fisker/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS

(Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Stine Jacobsen, editing by Mark Heinrich)

Attorney Mette Grith Stage, who represents one of three women that have been repatriated to Denmark from Syria, speaks with the media as she arrives for a hearing at a court in Esbjerg, Denmark October 7, 2021. Claus Fisker/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS