Deportation of Schiphol survivors from Monday

17 November 2005

AMSTERDAM — The deportation of survivors of the fire in the detention centre in Schiphol is to begin on Monday.

An official will consult with medical teams to see which of the estimated 200 survivors are mentally and psychically fit enough to be put on a plane, the Minister for Immigration and Integration Rita Verdonk said on Thursday.

She announced this during the third debate about the aftermath of the fire in late October at the detention centre in Schiphol. Eleven inmates died.

The detention centre housed rejected asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, as well as passengers detained at Schiphol airport with drugs.

Verdonk suspended the deportations of inmates who were in the detention centre a few days after the blaze. Last week, she announced a resumption, but had to backtrack when the Safety Council asked her to allow potential witnesses to stay in the country while the investigation continues.

This covered about 50 inmates, leaving another 200 eligible for immediate deportation. Ten have already consented to deportation, Verdonk told MPs. The interviews with the 50 witnesses should also be completed by the end of next week, she said.

MPS requested Thursday’s debate after comments made by some of the survivors appeared to contradict assertions by Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner that the inmates had no complaints about the care received after the fire.

MPs have agreed to await a report by the Health Inspectorate about the aftercare for the survivors of the fire. The inmates were moved from Schiphol to the detention centre at Vught or a prison boat in Rotterdam.

Three opposition parties have emphasised that detainees who have been traumatised by the fire should not be deported at this stage.

Subject: Dutch news