YEREVAN, DECEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS. For more than a month the preachers at a church in the Netherlands are holding a round-the-clock service to stop an Armenian family of being deported, Sky News reports.

According to the Dutch laws, the law enforcement agencies have no right to enter into the church territory during liturgy, therefore, the church made a decision to hold a round-the-clock service aimed at stopping the deportation of Tamrazyan family - including the parents, their two daughters and son.

This story is under the spotlight of both local and foreign media outlets. The family lives in the Netherlands for already nine years, the judicial procedures for granting an asylum continues for years. During this period the members of the family already managed to be integrated to the local society and acquire friends. But the court made a decision on October 25 according to which the family should return to Armenia, which is considered by the Dutch government as safe for them.

Theo Hettema, chairman of the general council of the Protestant Church of The Hague, said: “It’s heartbreaking. We had compassion and we had good reasons and we thought it was the mission of our church to act like this”.

Lawyer Martine Goeman said there are about 400 children in a similar position in the Netherlands.

The Dutch government introduced a rule in 2013, known by many as a “children's pardon”, that under special circumstances grants asylum to children who have been in the country for more than five years while their asylum application is processed.

But the lawyer said appeals for such a pardon are rarely honoured.

The Dutch justice ministry refused to comment on the Tamrazyan family case.

As the family’s asylum issue is still unresolved, the church preachers expressed readiness to continue the liturgy which is going on for more than 800 hours.