A 35-year-old resident of the emergency shelter for asylum seekers in Zuidbroek pointed a knife at himself on 22 February. He threatened to harm himself.
This became apparent on Friday morning during a court case in Groningen. After the incident (the man was often involved in disturbances) he was transferred to the ‘enforcement and supervision location’ (htl) in Hoogeveen. A stricter regime prevails there than in normal asylum seekers’ centres. He challenged this decision on Thursday.
COA employees have said he threatened colleagues. “But that’s not true,” he explains. “I only pointed the knife at myself.” His lawyer wants to hear the COA employees as witnesses.
Cause of incident
The man literally went crazy with his fellow residents. “A lot of single men live in the department where we were. My wife therefore no longer dared to go outside.” In addition, he smelled a weed smell from another room. The COA did not intervene because employees could not find the perpetrator.
A discussion about this with a COA employee got out of hand. He grabbed a knife and threatened to hurt himself. A struggle ensued after this. This led to a riot in the central hall.
Drawn batons
About a hundred residents got involved in the conflict and a threatening atmosphere arose. Video footage shows how at least ten officers with batons and a police dog stand in the hall. They try to calm the crowd.
Criticism of living conditions
The incident is not an isolated incident. In February, many residents of the emergency shelter in Zuidbroek complained about the center. Many people have been waiting months for an interview with the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). Moreover, there is little privacy in the shelter and people sometimes share eight people in a room. Refugee Work called it “a rotten place”.
The problems are still there. Residents at the emergency shelter in Assen also complain about the poor living conditions. On Thursday afternoon, a group of asylum seekers protested at the IND headquarters in Zwolle.