Family and friends of two of the three Amsterdam men arrested on terrorism charges at Belgium’s request have written to mayor Eberhard van der Laan asking him to help.

The two, known as Soufian B and Samir S, are both youth social workers without a criminal record, and their arrests have shocked their local community, the Volkskrant reports.
According to the men’s lawyers, the evidence against them is very thin – the only incriminating fact is a trip to Turkey at the beginning of November with the third defendant, Redouan A .
All three have denied involvement in terrorism and are fighting their extradition. They are being held in the special secure unit at Vught prison.
In the letter, the men’s supporters point to the Ikea terrorism scandal in 2009.Then, a telephone tip from Belgium resulted in six men and one woman being arrested and subsequently released without charge.