Three previous asylum applications were rejected, meaning they would be sent back to Russia. Once De Volkskrant had written about the case, the couple’s lawyer received an invitation from the State Secretary for Justice and Security to submit a fourth asylum application.
Shortly after the disaster, the woman said she had accidentally heard information about who was involved in the firing of the BUK missile in eastern Ukraine, which hit flight MH17. Because of that information, she and her boyfriend got into trouble: they were mistreated by the Russian security service FSB.
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Then they fled to the Netherlands. They had conversations with the Public Prosecution Service. The Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND) initially did not find their story credible.
Dutch intelligence sources hinted that they feared for the fate of the two if they were sent back to Russia. The IND recently entered into talks with the couple again, and they were still granted asylum status.
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