VUGHT, 14/06/03 - The 14 asylum-seeker minors who ran into trouble with the police last Wednesday were released on Friday. Nearly all of them were transferred to a reception center with a less strict regime.

On Wednesday, the 14 had vandalised the special 'campus' for asylum-seeking minors in Vught. When the police came to arrest them, three officers were injured. Only after reinforcements arrived could the police get the situation under control.

A spokesman for the Central Body of Asylum-seekers Centres (COA) said Friday that 13 of the 14 rioters have been placed in a regular asylum-seeker center, where milder regulations obtain than on the 'campus.' A girl that did not belong to the core of the group does have to stay in Vught.

As well as Vught, a center has recently also been set up in Deelen for preparing asylum-seeker minors for their return to their home country when they reach the age of 18. Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk said Friday that the children may from now on decide for themselves what they spend their pocket money on. She has also set up a commission to which the asylum-seekers can take their complaints. Verdonk was complying with a ruling by the district court in The Hague with the measures.