Recep Tayyip Erdogan

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima expressed their shock about a shooting in Utrecht that left three people killed and five injured on Monday. Their sympathies are with the victims, and their thoughts with the residents of Utrecht, they said in a statement on the Koninklijk Huis website. A number of world leaders also expressed condolences and support. 

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on European Turks, including Dutch-Turks, to become more politically active in their second home. "Take the nationality of the country where you live and take an active part in politics. Become a member of parliament", Erdogan called during an election meeting in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo, NU.nl reports.

Erdogan also called on his supporters to not betray Turkey or deny their origin. "Protect your religion and language well. If you lose that, you are lost", he said. 

A protest at Utrecht Centraal on Wednesday evening turned into a confrontation between Kurdish people protesting against Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and counter-protesters. The police intervened and dispersed the protesters, NU.nl reports.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to restore the relationship between Turkey and the Netherlands and Germany, he said in conversation with Turkish journalists on Thursday. "We have no problems with Germany, the Netherlands or Belgium. On the contrary, those who are in government are old friends", he said, according to broadcaster NOS.

Two Dutch-Turks are currently in custody in Greece on suspicion of involvement in a plan to kill Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They form part of a group that planned an attack on the Turkish president using rockets and Molotov cocktails, the Telegraaf reports.

Anil S. (25) from Amsterdam and Burak A. (23) from Eindhoven were arrested during an anti-terrorism action in Greece on November 28th. According to the newspaper, S. is on the national terrorism list, and both Dutch-Turks are affiliated with left-wing extremist group DHKP-C.

The Netherlands granted asylum to the first Turks who applied for protection after an attempted coup in Turkey last year. At least eight alleged Gulen-supporters who face persecution in Turkey now have asylum in the Netherlands, Wil Eikelboom of the association of asylum lawyers VAjN said to ANP.

A Dutch-Turkish man was arrested in Turkey on suspicion of insulting president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to NU.nl. According to the charge, the man called Erdogan a "thief" and "dictator" on social media and expressed criticism of the political situation in the country.

Turkish Minister Fatma Betul Kaya is dropping a lawsuit filed against the Netherlands, the Telgraaf reports based on information from a "highly placed" Turkish source. In the lawsuit she accused the Netherlands of illegally naming her an unwelcome foreigner and deporting her from the Netherlands in March. But according to the Telegraaf, the Turkish Minister eventually left the country of her own accord, which means there is no grounds for the lawsuit.

Not a single country in the European Union, including the Netherlands, congratulated Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his projected win in a referendum in Turkey on Sunday. The projected results show that 51.4 percent of Turks voted 'yes' on a referendum that gives Erdogan more power, including the possibility of ruling Turkey until 2029. But instead of congratulations, a number of EU countries responded with criticism and admonitions, the Volkskrant reports. 

At least ten, but maybe as many as 100, Turkish-Dutch are currently stuck in Turkey. They are not allowed to leave the country because they are critical about the Erdogan government, NOS reports based on its own sources. The Turkish government is furious about these reports. There are Dutch-Turks who are not allowed to leave the country, but that is because they have ties to the "terrorist" Gulen movement, the Turkish embassy said to the broadcaster.

On Thursday Turkish voters living in Amsterdam-Noord received dozens of leaflets about an upcoming referendum in Turkey. Some feel intimidated by the dozens of papers left in their mailbox, they said to AT5.

"I find it quite intimidating because I am not in favor of Erdogan", one woman said to the Amsterdam broadcaster. "I don't like his ideas, I don't want a dictatorship. They should campaign in their own country ad leave us alone." Another person said that it is "extremely risky" to campaign against Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.