Certificates of good behavior awarded to 13 people despite terrorism convictions

Over the past four years, Justis issued 22 certificates of good behavior (VOG) to 13 people who were previously convicted of terrorist crimes, Minister Franc Weerwind for Legal Protection informed parliament, RTL Nieuws reports.

Weerwind was responding to questions posed by Pieter Omtzigt after NOS revealed that a woman worked for Vluchtelingenwerk Nederland for a year despite being a convicted jihadist.

According to Weerwind, Justis, the Ministry of Justice and Security organization responsible for issuing VOGs, wrongly granted the certificates in the commercial, ICT, wholesale, energy, couriers, education, and healthcare sectors. It also rejected 30 applications for VOGs in the past four years, including due to terrorist crimes.

Omtzigt said the figures shocked him. “This is, of course, not in the interest of safety. I will ask for further clarification and stricter policy,” he said.