Dutch Cabinet wants to make it easy for people to report intimidation by foreign agents

People subject to intimidation by foreign governments will soon be able to report it more easily using a specific hotline. This concerns situations where foreign governments harass, extort money, or pressure on their current and former nationals while they are in the Netherlands.

Foreign Affairs Minister Wopke Hoekstra said he wants to use the hotline to "map out what is happening." The minister called such intimidation tactics "unsavory" during a debate in the Tweede Kamer on human rights policy. He will discuss the reporting point with the Ministries of the Interior and of Justice and Security.

Several Members of Parliament, including Kati Piri from Labour and Peter Valstar from VVD, brought up the issue of intimidation in the debate out of concern for immigrants and their families.

Several countries have been accused of intimidating their current and former citizens who are present in the Netherlands. Dozens of Uyghur people told the Public Prosecution Service in August 2020 that Chinese authorities were exerting pressure on them. In May, the FD reported that Russians in the Netherlands were being called on the phone by people asking where their loyalties lie in the war with Ukraine.

Belarusians and Turkish people living in the Netherlands have also suffered from intimidation. Additionally, the embassy of Eritrea has forcibly collected money from its compatriots.