Amstelveen mayor gets death threat over refugee centre plans

Amstelveen’s mayor, Mirjam van ‘t Veld, has received an anonymous death threat following her public support for a refugee centre.

The mayor has written to councillors informing them of the threat, saying she has made a formal police complaint. She also said she is shocked but more disappointed that people feel the need to make their feelings known by making death threats.

Amstelveen is planning to house 400 refugees in an empty office block from next month. The plans will go ahead, Van ‘t Veld said. ‘I will not budge because I have been threatened,’ she said in her letter.

Politicians in several parts of the country have been sent threats for backing refugee centres. The mayor of the Overijssel village of Rijssen-Holten last year received death threats following his support for refugees.

In Aalburg in Brabant, opponents threatened to burn down the town hall if the council agreed to settle 50 refugees, and in Rijswijk threats were made against individual councillors and their family members.