Former Hofstadgroep member Soumaya Sahla resigns her work to the VVD | Inland

“The commotion that has arisen is getting in the way of my positive contribution at the moment. That is why I delegate the table chairmanship to the thematic network J&V. I remain motivated to look for ways to contribute to a free and safe society. I will also remain a member of the VVD.”

She regrets that there has been a commotion. “I want to be addressed on a period of 16 years ago that I am not proud of. They are black pages in my life. I deeply regret the choices I made then and everyone around me knows that about me. I turned those pages a long time ago. I now see that it is good to also express this regret publicly.”

‘Discomfort away’

VVD chairman Onno Hoes is satisfied. “Her statement takes away the discomfort we felt. That inconvenience was in the combination of her coordinating role in the thematic network and not having publicly apologized for her actions in the past. It has taken far too long for the party to address the issue. We blame ourselves for that. Of course, Soumaya can remain a member of the VVD.”

VVD member Sahla was sentenced to three years in prison in 2014 for illegal possession of weapons and membership of a terrorist organization, the Hofstad group. After serving her sentence, she went on to study political science and distanced herself from extreme Islam. She became a member of the VVD, where party baron Frits Bolkestein became her mentor. She became a member of the terrorism and radicalization working group and in that capacity advised the party.

Mark Rutte said on Tuesday that he was uncomfortable with the situation around Soumaya Sahla. Text continues below the video.

Wilders

Her position came under a magnifying glass after PVV leader Geert Wilders, on the death list of the Hofstad group, recently made a point of it in the Chamber. VVD party leader Sophie Hermans then said that Sahla’s position gave her ‘an uneasy feeling’. Now Sahla lends the party a hand by keeping the credit to itself.

The statement from the VVD was sent shortly before a parliamentary debate on terrorism. PVV MP Markuszower demands during that debate that Sahla is also expelled from the VVD and says that her role in the party reflects on VVD minister Yesilgöz (Justice and Security). “She was advised by Soumaya Sahla, who was about to shoot my party leader Wilders. You don’t make a pyromaniac a team leader at the fire brigade, do you?”

Sahla already informed De Telegraaf on Tuesday that she did not want to give up her membership.

—