Abuse journalist still in court | Inland

That confirms lawyer Sébas Diekstra, who assists the current Telegraaf reporter, and after the dismissal instituted a so-called Article 12 Sv procedure on his behalf. A night out ended for Holtrop in the hospital after he was beaten up for unknown reasons.

After the attack, he posted a photo on Instagram that clearly showed his injuries. “Some nice guy thought it was fantastic to be the Rico Verhoeven. Result: broken cheekbones and a brain contusion. THANKS!”

Holtrop worked for PowNews for years from 2014 onwards. He has also had his own YouTube channel for a long time. He is now also associated with De Telegraaf.

‘Insufficient evidence’

The Public Prosecution Service initially indicated that there was “insufficient” to come up with legal and convincing evidence that the intended suspects were the ones who had beaten the journalist. Diekstra and his client disagreed because witness statements clearly point in the direction of these suspects.

Observations by police officers would also point in this direction. For that reason, counsel initiated the Article 12 procedure. With success, now that the court has ordered on Wednesday that the defendants must still be prosecuted.

‘I am satisfied with it’

In a response, Holtrop says that he finds it ‘nothing less than justified’ that his abuse will still be brought to court. “It is a first step towards justice. We’re not there yet. The suspects now have to answer to the criminal court and I hope, among other things, to get an answer to the question whether the abuse was related to my work. That cannot be ruled out yet.”

If it turns out that this was the case, it could lead to a more severe punishment because violence against the media is punished more severely.

“It is good to note that the correction system of Article 12 Criminal Procedure regularly works well,” says Diekstra. “You see that the Public Prosecution Service, more specifically the advocate general, regularly appears to look at an issue very differently than the officer who dismissed the case.”

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