Rena Netjes – How Dutch Max van den Berg Ended Up in A Syrian Jail, and How He Got Out + PowNews – Jezus Leeft Reageert op Fakkel Gekkie ‘Max is Lief’

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How Dutch Max van den Berg Ended Up in A Syrian Jail, and How He Got Out

In mMid February, A Short Message on Social Media Triggered A Chain of Events that would Eventually Lead to the Release of A Controversial Dutch Activist from A Detention Facility in Damascus.

Within Hours of His Arrest, A Small Network of People, Spread between The Netherlands and Syria, had Located Him. Three Weeks Later He was Free.

This is the Story of How that happened.

But to understand Why the Arrest of A Dutch Activist in Syria Became Such A Sensitive Matter, it is Necessary to Understand Who Max van den Berg is, Why He is Such A Polarizing Figure in The Netherlands, and How His Political Trajectory EventuallyLed Him to the Middle East.

A Controversial Figure in Dutch Politics

In Recent Years the Name Max van den Berg has Become Widely Known in The Netherlands, Primarily in Connection with Controversial Protest Actions, Conspiracy Narratives Circulating Online, and Repeated Legal Conflicts with the Dutch Government.

Van den Berg First Gained National Attention in January 2022 during A Protest that would Become Known Simply as The Torch Incident. That Evening He Appeared Outside the Private Residence of Then Dutch Finance Minister and D66 Party Leader Sigrid Kaag, Carrying A Burning Torch while Shouting Slogans in the Street. The Scene was Recorded and Quickly Circulated across Social Media.

Within Hours the Footage had become National News.

For Many Politicians and Commentators the Incident Symbolized A Hardening Political Climate in The Netherlands. The Idea that A Protester could Appear with A Burning Torch Outside the Home of A Sitting Minister was Widely Interpreted as Intimidation.

Van den Berg Later Insisted he had Never Intended to Threaten Kaag or Her Family. According to His Own Explanation, the Torch was Part of A Protest Action that Escalated Unexpectedly.

The Courts Saw It Differently. In A Later Appeal Ruling He was Convicted of Threatening A Public Official and Sentenced to Prison Time.

The Case became One of the Most Cited Examples in Dutch Debates about Political Radicalization, Protest Culture and the Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Activists.

**The Rise of** A “Professional Protester”

After the Pandemic Years, Van den Berg Increasingly Appeared at Demonstrations across the Country.

Many of These Protests were Connected to Opposition against Government Pandemic Policies, Distrust of Institutions, and Broader Anti Establishment Narratives that Gained Traction during That Period.

Dutch Media Often Described Him as A “Beroep Demonstrant”, Literally A “Professional Protester”, Someone Who Appears Regularly at Demonstrations and Political Events.

Unlike Traditional Activists Tied to Established Organizations, Van den Berg Operated Largely within A Decentralized Protest Culture that Emerged during the Pandemic. Much of This Network was Organized Online Rather Than through Formal Political Structures.

He Attended Protests near the Dutch Parliament in The Hague and at Other Symbolic Political Locations.

His Confrontational Style Frequently Brought Him into Direct Conflict with Authorities. Several Incidents Led to Arrests or Legal Procedures, Particularly when he Violated Restrictions Imposed by the Courts. Critics Described His Actions as Provocative and Polarizing. Supporters Saw Them as A Form of Civil Resistance against What They Considered an Increasingly Authoritarian State.

Legal Conflicts with the Authorities

Following the Torch Incident, Van den Berg Became Entangled in Multiple Legal Conflicts. One Such Case Involved A Behavioral Order Issued after Complaintsby Lawyer and Former D66 Parliamentarian Sidney Smeets, Who Accused Van den Berg of Intimidation and Threats.

Such Orders can Impose Restrictions on Contact with Certain Individuals or Prohibit Approaching Specific Locations. Authorities Later Argued that Van den Berg Violated These Conditions. Eventually He was Ordered to Report to Prison to Serve Part of his Sentence.

That Moment Triggered the Next Chapter of the Story. Van den Berg did Not Report to Prison. Instead, he Announced that He Had Left The Netherlands.

According to Various Reports He Traveled through Several Countries and Publicly Stated He was Unwilling to Return under the Circumstances.

The Case Sparked Renewed Debate in The Netherlands about Enforcement of Court Rulings, Protest Rights, and the Influence of Social Media Networks in Political Mobilization.

Political Ambition

Van den Berg did Not Limit His Activities to Street Protests. He Also Attempted to Enter Formal Politics. He Wants to Participate in the Provincial Elections in March. The Party Jezus Leeft|Jesus is Alive has Placed him on the Ballot as Their Lead Candidate in the Province of North Holland. Jezus Leeft Received over 2,300 Votes throughout The Netherlands in the 2019 Provincial Council elections. They did Not Result in A Seat in Any Province. “For Us, It is Always A Struggle to Gather Enough Signatures to Participate in All Provinces,” says Florens van der Spek. ^[1]

Despite This Set Back, Van den Berg Continued to Present Himself as Someone Seeking Political Change through Both Activism and Political Organization.

Media Image and Public Debate

Few Activists in Recent Dutch Politics Have Generated Such Sharply Divided Reactions.

In Much of the Dutch Media Van den Berg is Portrayed as A Conspiracy Minded Agitator Who Pushes the Boundaries of Acceptable Protest.

Politicians across the Political Spectrum have Criticized His Actions as Threatening or Destabilizing to Democratic Debate. At the Same Time He Maintains A Small but Highly Vocal Group of Supporters Who See Him Very Differently.

To Them, Van den Berg Represents Someone Willing to Challenge Political Elites and Speak Out against What They Perceive as Corruption or Abuse of Power.

Social Media and Self Presentation

A Key Element of Van den Berg s Public Presence is His Use of Social Media. Through Platforms Such as Telegram and Facebook He Communicates Directly with Followers, Sharing Videos, Commentary and Updates about Political Events.

For Supporters These Channels Function as Alternative Information Sources. For Critics They Represent an Eco System in Which Mis Information and Radical Narratives can Spread Easily. The Direct Nature of These Platforms Allows Van den Berg to Present His Own Version of Events without Mediation by Traditional Media.

A Journey to the Middle East

Against this Background Van den Berg Suddenly Appeared in A Very Different Context.

Syria.

In November, the Dutch Activist had Traveled to Syria, to Damascus, via Aleppo Airport.

Weeks After, Something went Wrong.

The Message That Started Everything

One Afternoon in Mid February I Noticed A Message on X Report that Max van den Berg had Been Arrested Outside A Hotel in Damascus.

The Report was Posted by Dutch Journalist Chris Klomp, Who Asked Me If I had an Idea Which Group Might Be Holding Him.

Damascus is Firmly Under the Control of Syria s Interim Authorities. Particularly the Central Areas of the City are Tightly Controlled.

My First Assumption was Therefore Simple, if Van den Berg had Been Arrested in Central Damascus, It was Almost Certainly the Syrian Authorities Who had Detained Him.

I Immediately Contacted What I Often Refer to as My Syrian Network.

Over the Years I Have Built Relationships with People across Syria, Journalists, Business Contacts and Individuals Connected to Local Institutions.

When I Reached Out, I Explained Who Max van den Berg was. I Did That for Three Reasons. First, I Assumed They Would Quickly Find Out Themselves Anyway. Second, Transparency is Essential When Dealing with People Who Are Taking Risks by Helping You. And Third, I Suspected that Explaining His Personal Circumstances, Including Possible Mental Health Struggles, Might Help Them Understand the Situation.

Later that Evening A Message Arrived from Damascus. Yes, They Confirmed. Max had Indeed Been Arrested. He was Being Held in A Detention Facility. And One of My Contacts would Try to Visit the Next Day. My Immediate Reaction was Simple, This Network is Incredible.

Why the Syrian Authorities Intervened

Over the Following Days My Contacts in Damascus Explained Why Van den Berg had Been Detained. One Important Factor was Geo Graphy.

Van den Berg had Traveled to Beit Jinn, A Town in Syria s Quneitra Region near the Israeli Controlled Golan Heights. The Area has seen Repeated Israeli Raids and Arrests of Syrians.

At the Same Time Van den Berg had Posted Images on Social Media Wearing Military Style Clothing, A Palestinian Scarf and Even Posing with A Weapon.

According to People around Him, His Goal may Have Been to Reach Gaza via Syria. From A Local Perspective This was Deeply Alarming.

It Suggested that A Foreign National with Little Understanding of the Region was Moving around Sensitive Border Areas While Publicly Presenting Himself as A Supporter of Palestine in Military Clothes.

My Syrian Contacts Explained Their Concerns in Very Direct Terms. There were Fears He Could Be Abducted by Foreign Intelligence in Syria, “The Neighours”.^[2]

Israel has Kidnapped Syrians from Quneitra Province, the Same Area Where Van den Berg Traveled. The Syrian Media Center does Not Grant Permission for Journalists to Visit Quneitra, and Even Established Outlets Have Run into Problems There. Some Time Ago, A BBC Crew Found Themselves in Trouble after Entering the Area.

There were Fears He could Be Recruited by Extremist Organizations. There were Fears He could Be kKidnapped for Ransom.

And Perhaps Most Importantly, There was Concern that If Anything Happened to Him, Syria Would Be Blamed Internationally.

Quiet Diplomacy

My contacts repeatedly assured me that Van den Berg was safe. But they deliberately shared very little detail. They had made a conscious decision to keep the situation quiet. They did not want the case to attract too much media attention.

They were also concerned about my own position and did not want me exposed to political attacks or pressure. Every few days they visited the relevant security offices to ask about Max.

They even saw him from the second day on security camera footage, confirming he was being held safely. But they did not speak directly with him. The priority was resolving the situation quietly.

Enter Norbert Dikkeboom

Several days into the situation another Dutch figure entered the picture. Norbert Dikkeboom contacted me to ask whether anything could be done to get Max out of Syria. The situation between the two men had previously been tense. Van den Berg had even conducted a smear campaign against him.

Yet despite that history, Dikkeboom was clear about one thing: no one wanted Max sitting alone in A Syrian jail cell.

He suggested writing a humanitarian letter to the authorities holding Van den Berg, hoping to establish some form of communication. My Syrian contacts thought the idea was reasonable.

But A Dutch legal organization involved in assisting detained citizens abroad believed it could complicate the situation and advised against it.

Importantly, Dikkeboom had not revealed that I might be able to deliver such a letter through contacts in Damascus. My own calculation was different. If Syrian authorities understood that several Dutch citizens were aware of the situation, it might actually accelerate the process.

They would have little interest in a prolonged international media story.

A Message from Max s Father

Then, last Sunday morning, something unexpected happened. I opened my email and found a message from Max s father.

The email included his phone number. I immediately sent him a message via WhatsApp. During our conversation something became clear very quickly. This was the first sign of life the family had received since Max’s arrest.

Everything they knew about his situation came through the information my Syrian contacts had been passing along.

In Dutch media interviews his father had already acknowledged that his son had made mistakes.

But at the same time he was deeply worried. He had no idea where Max was or what condition he was in.

An Unexpected Release

What happened next surprised all of us. Only a few hours after that conversation, Max van den Berg was released. The timing was remarkable.

For weeks the information I had received from Syria had been extremely limited — just enough to know he was safe, but not enough to know exactly where he was being held or what would happen next.

Then, suddenly, that same Sunday, everything changed—Max walked out free.

Against our advice to go to Amman, he headed instead for the Turkish border. But non-Syrians cannot simply cross there; it requires prior arrangements that typically take at least a few days. Max, however, had been given just 30 hours to leave the country. According to contacts in my network, a few extra hours would not have been a problem. They even offered cash for a ticket to the Jordanian border in case he no longer had the means.

In the end, through Aleppo Airport, and Amman, Max Made His Way to Istanbul.

My Advice to His Parents has been Simple, Come and Bring Him Back to The Netherlands. Before he Ends Up in Trouble Somewhere in the Region Again.

A Quiet Resolution

Looking Back, the Limited Information makes Sense. The Syrian Side had Chosen A Strategy of Quiet Management. They Wanted to Make Sure the Situation did Not Escalate into an International Political Issue.

At the Same Time They Clearly Considered the Safety Risks Van den Berg Posed to himself and Possibly to Others in the Region. Ultimately They Chose to Release him Rather than Escalate the Case.

And Thanks to A Combination of Personal Contacts, Persistence, and Some Unlikely Cooperation between People Who Normally Disagree, the Story Ended without Further Drama.

A Strange Episode in an Unlikely Place

For Many Observers in The Netherlands, the Idea that A Domestic Political Activist would Suddenly Appear in Syria, and End Up in Detention There, Sounded Surreal.

Yet in the Age of Social Media and De Centralized Activism, Unusual Trajectories like This are Becoming More Common. Individuals can Travel across Borders, Broadcast Their Actions Instantly, and Inadvertently Create Diplomatic Situations within Hours.

Max van den Berg s Brief Detention in Damascus may Ultimately Become Just Another Footnote in His Already Controversial Public Life. But the Episode also Illustrates Something Else.

Sometimes the Resolution of Inter National Incidents does Not Happen through Official Diplomatic Channels.

Sometimes It Hhappens through Informal Networks, Personal Trust, and A Handful of People Who Decide despite Political Differences, that Getting Someone Safely Out of A Difficult Situation is Simply the Right Thing to Do.

⁽¹⁾ https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/fakkeldreiger-kaag-wordt-lijsttrekker-jezus-leeft-bij-provinciale-verkiezingen~a85acf43
⁽²⁾ https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2026/03/israeli-arrest-operations-escalate-in-quneitra/

Rena Netjes

renanetjea.substack.com, Mar 15, 2026

https://renanetjes.substack.com/p/how-dutch-max-van-den-berg-ended

Jezus Leeft Reageert op Fakkel Gekkie ‘Max is Lief’

Gwpubliceerd 17 jan 2022

PowNews

Corona Demonstrant en Complot Denker Max van den Berg Stond met een Brandende Fakkel voor de Woning van Sigrid Kaag en Haar Gezin. Walgelijk en Zwaar Intimiderend Vindt Heel Wel Denkend Nederland. Florens van der Spek van Jezus Leeft, Waar Max Banden Mee Heeft, Reageert.