LGBT asylum seekers allege groping incidents at reception center

Three asylum seekers were "immorally groped" last Tuesday in their protected LGBTI unit at the asylum seekers' center in Ter Apel. A spokesperson for the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) confirmed this following a message from the LGBT Asylum Support organization on Friday. According to the group, a young man entered the living quarters of three asylum seekers and tried to assault them.

According to the advocacy group, security removed the man from the room several times, but he kept returning. He is said to have been practically naked and demanded that the three residents of the LGBTI unit have sex with him. Recordings of the incident were also made.

According to LGBT Asylum Support, the COA prevented the victims from reporting the incident to police until 9 a.m., even though the incident happened hours earlier. The COA said that the police were only informed in the morning because it was still unclear what exactly had happened. Police will only be informed immediately when someone is caught red-handed, a COA spokesperson said.

The COA said the police visited the site in Ter Apel on Wednesday morning and that a report was filed. There were no arrests in the incident, as far as is known. The COA said it is doing its utmost to make all residents in Ter Apel feel as safe as possible, but it will "not always be able to prevent all incidents."