She is considered an "early out-traveler. Nikki S. was already in the Islamic State (IS) caliphate in Syria in 2013. But with IS she had nothing, she calmly and decidedly told the judges. The woman is on trial in Rotterdam for participating in IS and preparing terrorist crimes. "I was in Syria fleeing from my in-laws," she said.
The story of Dutch IS women has been told in many variations, but that of Nikki S. differs again. Raised in Berkel en Rodenrijs, she became a Muslim and moved to Turkey in 2004. With her second husband Burhan, she left for Syria nine years later. "It was war there by then," Judge says. "I wasn't so concerned with that. I went with my husband, who had to leave Turkey. I thought it was fine, then I wouldn't see my mother-in-law anymore. It was a kind of escape."
