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-- The suicide of deported asylum seeker Andrej Donorov in 2003 continues to haunt controversial Dutch Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk.
Opposition MPs reacted angrily on Thursday to Verdonk's insistence that the transfer of medical information about Donorov to Spain was satisfactory. The Dutch Health Inspectorate (IGZ) studied the handling of the case and found it was not adequate.
A Ukrainian national, Donorov had schizophrenia and was suicidal when he was deported to Spain in the summer of 2003. He had been in institutions on several earlier occasions and was "seized by blind panic over his impending deportation," Socialist MP Jan de Wit said.
Donorov took
his own life in a hotel in Madrid on 30 August 2003. This was 10 days after his arrival in Spain and the day before his first scheduled doctor's appointment.
Opposition MPs claimed the Spanish were not properly informed about his condition. The officials who received him were given a bag with medication and a two-line letter in English about his illness and suicidal tendencies.
Medical experts reviewed the case and stated the suicide could very likely have been prevented had the case been handled properly. --
