topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2228.5 -1.86
DAX 6660.4 -1.89
IBEX 30 8753.6 -1.67
CAC 40 3366.62 -1.70
FTSE 100 5843.07 -0.89
AEX 319.85 -1.62
DJIA 12890.46 0.05
Nasdaq 2927.23 0.39
FTSE MIB 16359.61 -1.77
TSX Composite 12497.94 -0.18
ASX 4322.6 -0.79
Hang seng 20783.86 -1.08
Straits Times 2960 -0.71
ISEQ 20 501.48 -0.44
You are here: Home News Dutch News Rights group seeks justice for immigrant deaths

Dutch News

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


06/01/2009Rights group seeks justice for immigrant deaths

A rights group is requesting the European Court of Human Rights to hear a case of 11 illegal immigrants who were killed in a fire at a Dutch detention centre.

STRASBOURG – A rights group on Monday requested the European Court of Human Rights to hear a case involving 11 illegal immigrants who died in a fire at a Dutch detention centre three years ago.

A committee for the defence of the victims of the fire, which broke out at Schiphol airport near Amsterdam in October 2005, made the request after the Dutch legal authorities refused to prosecute two ministers then in office.

Piet Hein Donner, now social affairs minister then held the justice portfolio.

Rita Verdonk who now heads the rightwing Proud of the Netherlands party, was immigration and integration minister at the time.

Donner was responsible for the running and construction of the centre, and Verdonk for the administrative detention of the migrants and taking charge of the survivors of the fire,

The committee argues they were guilty of inhuman and humiliating treatment.

An independent inquiry concluded that the disaster, which also injured 15 people, including some security staff, would have been less lethal if safety rules had been observed and staff better trained.

The only person to face charges was a Libyan immigrant, Ahmed Isa-Al-Jeballi, accused of starting the fire by throwing away a lighted cigarette end in his cell before going to sleep.

He received a three year jail term. His appeal will be heard in the coming months.

The report of the inquiry revealed similar serious flaws in the country's five other detention centres and led to the resignation of Donner and the housing minister Sybilla Dekker. Verdonk did not resign.

The court will spend several months considering whether to accept the case before passing judgement on the basic issue.

[AFP / Expatica]


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment
Discussion Forums

Legal Problems in the Netherlands

Problem with Internet Provider

Netherlands Soapbox

"No, that's not possible."

Student Forum The Netherlands

Uni fees - questions

Legal Problems in the Netherlands

KM -> PR -> Citizenship

Business and Finance in the Netherlands

M Form wrongly calculated by the tax office?

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Setting up home in the Netherlands

Setting up home in the Netherlands

A guide to telephone, internet and television along with utility services water, electricity and gas in the Netherlands.

Dutch immigration and residency regulations

Dutch immigration and residency regulations

Lost in the Dutch immigration system? Look no further than this guide compiled for our Survival Guide 2012.

A brief introduction to the Netherlands

A brief introduction to the Netherlands

Expatica offers a whistle-stop tour of life in the modern Netherlands.

Giving birth in the Netherlands

Giving birth in the Netherlands

The challenges and benefits of the maternity system in the Netherlands and how it differs to other countries.