THE HAGUE

Discrimination against ethnic minorities in the Netherlands surged in 2018, an official report said Tuesday.

The report requested by the Dutch Interior Ministry and police stated that discrimination against minorities increased by 2% in 2018 compared to 2017.

Some 10,900 discrimination cases were recorded during the years.

The report added that 5% of the cases targeted religious belief and in 76% cases Muslims had been targeted.

It is added that the discrimination against Muslims occurred in professional life and targeted women wearing headscarfs.