Immigration and Integration Minister Rita Verdonk has been grilled in parliament during a debate on the treatment of Syrians being deported from the Netherlands. MPs reacted with incredulity on Thursday to the news a Syrian government delegation demanded and was granted the right to question 181 of the deportees individually without a representative of the Dutch immigration service IND being present.Under the normal circumstances IND officials could have been present at all interviews, Verdonk said. But after 12 meetings the Syrians indicated the IND was no longer welcome because their present made the meetings "awkward".
| "Begone, infidels. This is for human ears only." |
| An additional concern is that a shadowy Syrian is purported to be the mastermind behind the Hofstad Group and Theo Van Gogh's killer. |
Coalition party D66 asked how it was possible the Syrians were given such control over the interviews in light of the controversy last year about deportations to the Congo. Verdonk was forced to admit last year in that case the IND passed on information to the Congolese authorities. Human –rights campaigners said the information could have helped identity the deportees as asylum seekers. The deportations of Syrians questioned by the government delegation have been put on hold until parliament debates the issue again next week.