Dutch citizens carry out self-organised 'border checks'

For the second evening in a row, Dutch citizens have conducted self-organised 'border checks' at the German border near Ter Apel, searching for asylum seekers.

Ter Apel is the place where almost all asylum seekers must first report to the registration centre of the Dutch immigration service IND (Immigration- en Naturalisatiedienst) after arriving in the Netherlands. It is situated in the north of the country, in the province of Groningen, on the border with Germany.

On Saturday, people wearing reflective jackets were already stopping cars, and on Sunday, another such action was announced. On Sunday evening, the police were present in large numbers, preventing any new checks from taking place. However, the police did check the identification of citizens present, but no arrests were made.

The municipality of Westerwolde, which includes Ter Apel, described the actions as extremely dangerous. The Dutch outgoing Minister of Justice David van Weel urges people not to take the law into their own hands and to let the police do their job.

(PP with DC - Source: NRC - Photo: © DPA picture alliance/dpa | Lars Klemmer)