Three members of one of the Netherlands’ largest outlaw motorcycle clubs, the No Surrender MC, have joined the Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State in Iraq, according to a statement made by the club’s president, Klaas Otto. The three men have landed in Mosul days ago, and joined the “fight against injustice”. Dutch authorities say they don’t have a problem with that.
The No Surrender MC is one of the Netherlands’ largest outlaw motorcycle clubs, with the number of its members rivaling that of the Dutch Hell’s Angels. It was founded in 2013 by Klaas Otto, and has become notorious when it made some well known Dutch gansgters its prominent members. The three members joining the fight against the IS are from Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Breda. The news about the bikers joining the Kurds against the Islamic State has first surfaced a few days ago on the internet, when one of the three – a heavily tattooed Dutch biker called Ron – was photographed alongside a Kurdish fighter with a Kalashnikov in his hand and flashing the sign for Victory. Later the club’s president has confirmed the news.
Unlike citizens of the Netherlands who might want to support the Islamic State, the bikers joining the fight against them will not be prosecuted in any kind by the local authorities. Joining a foreign armed force was punishable in the past by Dutch laws, but later the law was changed, allowing locals to join the fight – just not against their home country. When it comes to the Islamic State, though, things are much different – the organization being classified as a terrorist organization, it falls into a completely different category. According to current laws, even the preparations to side with the Islamic State is punishable by law. The Netherlands – and many other European countries – have cracked down of the would-be Jihadists intending to join the IS, confiscating their passports or threatening them with prosecution for war crimes, would they return to the country.