The next government must take speedy action to end the uncertainty surrounding some 150 Afghan asylum seekers who have been officially branded as war criminals, according to mayors in towns where the men are living.

Some 40 mayors have grouped together to campaign for change. ‘It is time to resolve this painful issue,’ Els Boot, mayor of Giessenlanden, says in Friday’s Trouw.
The men, who have lived in the Netherlands for more than 10 years, are classed as war criminals by the immigration service because they worked for the Afghan security service during Communist rule. This means they are not eligible for asylum.
Evidence
However, the men have been categorised as war criminals without any individual assessment and this must now change, the mayors say. ‘In many cases there is no reason to assume involvement in war crimes,’ Boot said. ‘If there is no evidence, people should be given a residency permit.’
Three Afghan men are currently facing deportation although their families have been told they can probably stay. Immigration minister Gerd Leers has refused to reconsider their cases.
Boot hit the headlines earlier this year when she ordered the police not to cooperate with the deportation of an Afghan man living in Giessenlanden.
Afghan family, in the Netherlands for 13 years, won’t be deported yet.
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