VVD and JA21 in the House of Representatives want an explanation about the cancellation of thousands of fines that have been issued to asylum seekers who dodge fare. They received the fines on the train between Zwolle and Emmen, but they are invalid.
According to Arriva, asylum seekers who dodge the train were able to identify themselves for years with a COA pass. This is a kind of identity card with name and photo that every asylum seeker receives who registers in Ter Apel.
But since January 1, that card is no longer a valid ID card, which means that thousands of fines have been retroactively declared invalid, RTV Oost reported last Friday. Arriva is surprised and warns of the consequences.
“The VVD faction believes that the decision to declare these fines invalid cannot be explained to anyone who uses public transport with a valid ticket,” says VVD Member of Parliament Ellian. He calls it “unacceptable that asylum seekers who dodge fare are rewarded by this decision”.
JA21 MP Simon Ceulemans agrees. “I find it really absurd. It is impossible to explain to anyone that asylum seekers who fare fare on the train receive a fine and that it then disappears into the trash bin,” he says.
VVD member Ellian points out that the coalition agreement between D66, VVD and CDA stipulates that a travel ban will be imposed more quickly and more often on asylum seekers who dodge fare. According to him, this does not compare to the payment of thousands of fines on the Zwolle-Emmen line.
“There is still some vagueness surrounding it: why is that COA pass suddenly no longer valid?”, Ceulemans wonders.
