Deported journalist accused of forgery in visa application for Syrian ex: report
Ans Boersma, a Financieele Dagblad correspondent who was deported from Turkey on Thursday morning, is suspected of committing forgery in the visa application for her Syrian ex-boyfriend, television program Nieuwsuur reports based on information from sources in The Hague.
According to Nieuwsuur, Boersma helped her ex-boyfriend with his visa application in 2013 and 2014, for which he used a false name and a forged Syrian passport. The visa application eventually helped him get a Dutch residency permit. The ex-boyfriend was arrested in Amsterdam in October, on suspicion of belonging to Syrian terrorist organization Jabhat al-Nusra, an organization with ties to al-Qaeda. Boersma and the Syrian man were in a relationship until the summer of 2015.
On Thursday Turkey said that Boersma was deported because she is suspected of having links with a terrorist organization. A spokesperson for Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey received information about the issue from the Dutch police, who asked Turkey to share information about Boersma's "journeys in and out of Turkey".
The Koninklijke Marechaussee, a policing force that works as part of the Dutch military, has been keeping an eye out for Boersma since December 4th, according to a statement on FD's website. "On 5 January, Turkey imposed a 'ban' on Boersma's passport. That is why on Wednesday 16 January she was taken to an Istanbul police station when she visited the Turkish immigration office", the newspaper writes.
Boersma hasn't yet responded to the accusations against her.
