A homosexual couple has been the victim of a stabbing in the asylum seeker center (azc) in Ter Apel. The victims are 26 and 36 years old. The couple was attacked on Saturday, May 4, after which one of them was taken to hospital. A minor suspect has been arrested and the suspect is still in custody. RTV Noord reports this.
Following this incident, Sandro Kortekaas, chairman of LGBT Asylum Support, is writing an urgent letter to State Secretary Van der Burg for the fifth time this year – as he has done in previous years. In the letter he calls on the State Secretary for Justice and Security to create an appropriate policy that will guarantee the safety of the LGBTI community in the asylum seekers’ center.
LGBT Asylum Support has been supporting homosexual asylum seekers throughout the asylum procedures since 2015. LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender.
The COA confirms that the incident took place in Ter Apel. “We are receiving COA-wide signals from LGBT Asylum Support that it is not safe for that group in asylum seeker centers. We do our best to prevent incidents and keep an extra eye on people. We may move people if necessary,” says a COA spokesperson. against the regional broadcaster.
But it is not easy to find a solution for these types of incidents. “We have absolutely no places left, that is the big problem. We try to provide tailor-made solutions. It is very bad when something like this happens,” says the spokesperson.
According to Kortekaas, the situation is very dire and LGBTI people are not safe in Ter Apel. “Gay, gays, we will kill you,” he said the perpetrators shouted. It is therefore clear to him that the stabbing took place on the basis of homophobia. A group of six Algerian men are said to have attacked the couple from Tunisia.
The background of the victims and perpetrators cannot be confirmed by the police. The police also cannot say whether it was LGBTI violence.
This year alone, LGBT Asylum Support has already made 262 reports of unsafe situations to the COA. That is why Kortekaas insists in the urgent letter on the introduction of LGBT units. These spaces must offer homosexual asylum seekers safety against the discrimination they experience in the asylum seeker’s center.
