Women Attacked In Netherlands Reviving Migration Debate (Worthy News Investigation)

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News reporting from the Netherlands

MAASHORST, NETHERLANDS (Worthy News) – Fresh questions have been raised about massive Muslim migration into the Netherlands after a Syrian asylum seeker allegedly raped a Dutch girl while dozens of young women have been assaulted in Amsterdam and other cities by suspected youths from North Africa, including Morocco.

Seb van Lier told legislators of the southern Dutch municipality of Maashorst that his 15-year-old daughter was raped by a Syrian asylum seeker on January 10 this year.

The emotional father blamed “the mayor and municipal council” for “negligence, cover-up politics, and undermining his daughter’s victimhood.”

In footage obtained by Worthy News, Van Lier spoke openly about the suffering that he said his family endured since the rape. “My daughter is scarred for life. We live with the consequences of this serious crime every day,” he said, fighting back tears. “This takes a heavy toll on all of us.”

The father accused the municipality of structurally obstructing them. “We do not feel heard. In my opinion, the mayor is partly responsible.”

He claimed the municipality asked his daughter’s therapist to advise him against speaking out for fear of creating tensions with asylum seekers.

Van Lier accused the municipality of focusing more on protecting the perpetrator than supporting the victim. “We have the impression that the rapist is viewed as a victim while the perpetrator role is being given to us as a family.”

EXACT AGE UNKNOWN

He called it “scandalous” that the mayor and municipality suggested that the alleged perpetrator is a minor, although the exact age is unknown. “The DNA could not determine that. But my daughter was raped – that is important.”

Van Lier also asked critical questions about safety in Maashorst. “With the arrival of even more asylum seekers here, can you still ensure the safety of your wife, the elderly, and children?”

He said the “perpetrator was transferred” to another location “without prosecution even though his identity and DNA are known.” Van Lier added: “We are trapped in the trauma he caused while he is walking around freely.”

In a reaction, Mayor Hans van der Pas claimed the alleged rape did not occur within the territory of Maashorst and that the asylum seeker involved “was not and is not a resident of the shelter [for asylum seekers] in Maashorst.”

Yet the rape reportedly took place in the nearby area, and critics say Maashorst has encouraged the housing of mainly Muslim migrants in the region with plans for at least three more shelters.

Additionally, the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service suggested that the January 10 assault happened after school “between the girl and a minor boy in Veghel” near Maarshorst. “The two are said to have known each other. The vice squad is currently investigating What happened between the boy and the girl. Due to the importance of this investigation and the fact that it concerns minors, we support the mayor’s call not to speculate and to wait for the investigation.”

However, Maarshorst Municipal Councillor Janco Bethlehem, who investigated the case, suggested that “authorities want to maintain secrecy around these kinds of incidents.”

FACING TOUGH PERSECUTION

Bethlehem’s rightwing Forum voor Democratie (Forum for Democracy) party has expressed concern that Bethlehem is facing prosecution for alleged incitement after calling for a peaceful rally against the local leadership’s asylum policies.

Footage seen by worthy news showed police violently removing the father of the allegedly raped teenager while pushing back demonstrators. Local authorities employed some 150 police, a helicopter, and a drone during the April 9 protest in Uden, part of Maashorst, Worthy News learned.

While the case is still ongoing, the tensions in Maashorst, widely shared on social media, have underscored broader concerns about incidents involving migrants against women and girls.

In recent months, dozens of women have been randomly slapped on their buttocks by groups of youths while walking or running through various municipalities in the Netherlands.

Separately, sexual assaults were accused during Saturday’s “King’s Day” for Dutch King Willem-Alexander’s 58th birthday, with at least one alleged rapist being detained. However, authorities have not confirmed whether Muslim youth were involved in the incidents.

The incidents are being recorded by the perpetrators and shared online, prompting police to label it a “social media trend.” Many of the suspects are riding fat bikes during these assaults, according to investigators.

In Amsterdam alone, police have received 24 reports since the beginning of the year. Eleven of those resulted in official complaints of sexual assault, but no arrests have been made so far. “Filming and sharing such footage is not a crime in itself, but recording an act of assault may make you an accomplice,” police warned.

MULTIPLE GROUPS INVOLVED

Authorities believe multiple groups of offenders are involved and urged victims to come forward. Sources with knowledge about the situation say many attackers are Moroccan boys, but officials refuse to confirm that assessment.

The phenomenon isn’t limited to Amsterdam. Police in Utrecht have received nine reports, six involving suspects on fat bikes. In The Hague, similar incidents were reported, with women being slapped by riders on “fat bikes.” The bikes, with comically large tires, have come into the mainstream in recent years after being introduced earlier this century.

In Meppel, five fat bike riders were recently apprehended in connection with similar cases, though it’s unclear whether they filmed their actions, officials said.

Isabel, an East Amsterdam resident from Britain, told Dutch media she experienced one of these attacks firsthand. “I had just started my run when I felt a hard slap on my butt,” she remembered.

Despite having lived in the neighborhood for over two years and never feeling unsafe, the incident shocked her. “I always wore noise-canceling headphones, which meant I didn’t hear them coming.”

After the assault, Isabel said she saw two boys on a fat bike yell at her, apparently trying to provoke a reaction. She recalled that the boys rode off when another woman approached to check if she was okay.

Isabel later posted a video on the social media platform TikTok warning others, which has since gone viral.

GLAD SHE DID

She eventually reported the incident to the police. “I’m glad I did—it helped me feel a bit stronger, and hopefully, it helps protect others.”

Parties such as Forum for Democracy have linked the incidents to Islam’s approach to women and the poor education children receive from their parents.

Groups of Moroccan and, to a lesser extent, Turkish boys and men have been accused of causing disturbances. However, the Dutch political party Denk (Think) has strongly objected to this assessment and says many Muslims face discrimination in the Netherlands.

Yet the incidents against women revived a debate about the integration of migrants in the Netherlands, a small seafaring nation of 18 million people.

The anti-Islam Party Voor de Vrijheid (Party for Freedom) is leading a four-party coalition pledging to halt the influx of migrants from predominantly Muslim nations.

That seems an uphill battle. The Netherlands received hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers in recent years. It is home to some 4.5 million people with a migration background, including about 1 million Muslims, according to official statistics.

Christianity is still the main “religion,” experts say, followed by Islam.

But with roughly 55 percent of Dutch people identifying as “nonreligious,” the traditional Christian roots of the Netherlands are rapidly being forgotten, church watchers fear.

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