Two residents of Ter Apel were arrested in mid-October for allegedly crossing the line when pursuing an asylum seeker in June. It is the third incident in which citizen arrests of asylum seekers got out of hand, according to the police.
At the end of October, a Nieuw-Weerdinger was arrested for assaulting an asylum seeker. Last Friday, the police found an injured 18-year-old man on Hoofdstraat in Ter Apel after reporting a citizen’s arrest. He had to go to hospital for treatment.
Citizens around the asylum seekers’ center in Ter Apel are increasingly taking the law into their own hands. They believe that insufficient action is being taken against thefts and burglaries by underprivileged asylum seekers from mainly safe countries, so they do it themselves. Suspected perpetrators are often handed over to the police. That is allowed, as long as no violence is used.
Suspected of collision and hitting with an object
In the case in June, a 42-year-old asylum seeker was chased after witnesses caught him in an alleged theft. He was reportedly hit by a car that was traveling at walking pace. The police also suspect that he was hit with an object. The asylum seeker had minor injuries.
In mid-October, a 57-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man from Ter Apel were arrested and interrogated in the case, the police reported. They were subsequently released but remain suspects. The police say they have found no indications that the asylum seeker has committed criminal offenses.
Looking for witnesses or camera images
No arrests have been made in connection with last Friday’s incident. Police responded to a report of a citizen’s arrest and found the injured man surrounded by bystanders. The police are looking for witnesses or camera images of what exactly happened.
Inquiries with shopkeepers on Hoofdstraat yielded no further information about the incident. Conversations with residents and entrepreneurs in Ter Apel show that no one would be surprised if a citizen uses violence against a thieving safekeeper. The nuisance is that serious. “If there are camera images of this, I don’t expect anyone to give them to the police,” says a shopkeeper.
Waiting for ministry measures
Ter Apelers indicate that things are going crazy with thefts and burglaries in and around the village. They are disappointed in the lack of decisiveness from the government. Promises to tackle the nuisance are consistently not fulfilled.
Concerns about tensions in and around the village are also great among local authorities. Municipal authorities of Westerwolde and Emmen are eagerly awaiting stricter measures against nuisance from the Ministry of Justice and Security. One of these would be spreading the safelanders across the rest of the country, according to Emmen Mayor Eric van Oosterhout.