Ten Turkish asylum seekers get residency after information leak

Turkish flags hanging inside a building in The Hague. Photo: DutchNews.nl
Turkish flags hanging inside a building in The Hague. Photo: DutchNews.nl

Ten Turkish nationals have been given Dutch residency permits following the arrest of a lawyer involved in assessing asylum claims by the Turkish authorities, junior justice minister Ankie Broekers-Knol has told MPs.

The arrest meant that confidential information about their asylum applications was probably in the hands of the Turkish government, leading the Dutch immigration services to give them residency rights as a precaution.

The lawyer who was arrested had been involved in assessing some 70 claims over the past two years. Of them, 60 people had already been given refugee status and the other 10 will now follow, the minister said.

Applications to bring in their families would also be dealt with quickly, the minister said.

The cases concern potential supporters of Fethullah Gulen, regarded by Turkey as being responsible for the failed coup of 2016.

One Turkish asylum seeker told RTL Nieuws last week that he had received a letter from the IND saying he should ‘seriously take into account’ the fact that his information was now in the hands of the Turkish authorities.

‘I am very worried about the safety of my family who have stayed behind,’ he told RTL Nieuws. ‘And I worry about my safety here. Erdogan has fanatical followers in the Netherlands and I am concerned that one of them may now attack me.’

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