Teeven takes measures after Dolmatov inspectorate report

News item | 12-04-2013 | 14:45

After Mr Dolmatov’s passing, State Secretary Teeven asked the Inspectorate for Safety and Justice to investigate whether the government was acting with due care while he was taken into custody. State Secretary Teeven writes in his response to the Inspectorate for Safety and Justice report that Mr Dolmatov’s passing in the night of 16 and 17 January 2013 in the Rotterdam detention centre has concerned him deeply. He has expressed his sympathies to Mr Dolmatov’s mother. Any damages due to Mr Dolmatov's passing will be paid to the next of kin.

In addition to the measures already taken, State Secretary Teeven will adopt all recommendations made by the Inspectorate for Safety and Justice. For instance, there will be a vulnerability analysis for all steps within the (return) process in which information is exchanged. In addition, State Secretary Teeven will take measures in order to prevent that the system automatically awards asylum seekers the status ‘no legal stay' without any human interaction.

In its report, the Inspectorate for Safety and Justice concludes that various organizations have acted without due care at various moments within the Alien Affairs organization chain. For instance, Mr Dolmatov was put in alien detention wrongfully, the legal aid that was offered was not in compliance with the applicable rules and legislation, and the medical care was inadequate.

The Inspectorate is unable to assess whether more care from the Dutch government could have lead to a different course of events. The Public Prosecution Service has investigated Mr Dolmatov's cause of death and established that it was suicide by hanging. On the basis of an investigation, the OM has concluded that there is no basis for a criminal investigation.

The Health Care Inspectorate states in it’s report that the two nurses in the detention centre did not meet the requirements of responsible care and that they should be brought before the disciplinary judge. Awaiting the ruling of the disciplinary judge, the nurse who is still working at the detention centre can only work under supervision of the care lead.

The Inspectorate for Safety and Justice states in its report that the actions lacking due care on behalf of the Dutch government can not only be ascribed to the personal actions or omissions of government officials, but also to the dependency on - and the trust in – the systems, procedures and forms that support government officials in their decision-making process.

In his letter, State Secretary Teeven underlines that protocols are never a goal in themselves, but that they are merely a means to support professional, committed and responsible actions, focused on the person concerned. ,,People who have been entrusted into the care of the government should be in good hands. That is my standpoint."