Somalia: Victims of Al-Shabaab Eligible for Asylum in Netherlands

Amsterdam, 25 Jan 2014 (SDN) –Netherlands Secretary of State for Justice and Security Fred Teeven has adjusted the policies regarding asylum seekers from Somalia.

Fred TeevenHe said in a letter to the Second Chamber today that people who can prove that they fear for their lives because they belong to a group that is targeted by the terrorist organization Al-Shabab, are eligible for a residence permit.

He pointed out that Al-Shabab has been increasing its activities in Mogadishu, targeting government workers, members of the country’s justice department, the international security force AMISOM, people who work for international organizations and people Al-Shabab suspects of being spies for Government.

Last December Teeven had said that asylum seekers from Somalia would be sent back because the situation in Mogadishu had improved. Teeven was then criticized for being too hasty because it was not totally clear yet then what the situation in the civil-war stricken country was like, but he pointed out that no one had been actively repatriated to Somalia yet. He pointed out that over the past years, the Netherlands sent ten Somalis back, a small number compared to the 480 known asylum seekers in the country.