The Iranian national who was shot in Schoonhoven on Thursday morning was an active critic of the Iranian regime, justice minister David van Weel confirmed on Friday, ahead of the weekly cabinet meeting.
The man, who worked for the Dutch police, had many followers on social media where he he was known for his outspoken views. Van Weel told reporters.
As yet it is unclear how long the man, who is seriously ill in hospital, has lived in the Netherlands, but earlier reports suggested he had been here for six years.
One neighbour, who helped the man after he had been shot, told the AD that everyone knew the family. “They are really kind people,” she said. “They have lived here for six years and speak good Dutch. All sorts of rumours are going around and I can’t take it.”
There is no evidence so far that the shooting was connected to the man’s Iranian roots but “the fact he is Iranian and speaks out against the regime is something we have to take seriously,” Van Weel said.
A year ago the Dutch security service AIVD warned that Iranian nationals in the Netherlands are particularly at risk of persecution by the authorities from their home country.
In 2024 there was a failed attack on Iranian activist Siamak Tadayon Tahmasbi in Haarlem and murders of Iranian activists in 2015 and 2017 are thought to have been ordered by the regime.
The minister said he understood that the shooting had caused unease among the Iranian population in the Netherlands and said that “if necessary, we will take additional [security] measures”.
Earlier this week Van Weel suggested there could be an Iranian link to the minor explosions outside a synagogue in Rotterdam and a Jewish school in Amsterdam.
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