The two Belgian top men of parcel company PostNL in Belgium, who were arrested last week, will remain in prison until the indictment chamber considers their possible release. This must be done within fifteen days.
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The labor prosecutor has today appealed against the release of Rudy Van Rillaer and John de Bruin, respectively the Belgian CEO and the operational manager of PostNL in Belgium. They were arrested last Monday on suspicion of human trafficking, forgery, prohibited posting and leading a criminal organization. A third employee, the PostNL depot manager in Willebroek, was also arrested.
The Council Chamber in Mechelen decided last Friday that the three PostNL employees were allowed to leave the cell, but because the labor prosecutor is appealing, Van Rillaer and De Bruin must remain in the cell for the time being, until they are brought before the Chamber of Indictment. He must make a decision within 15 days.
The release of the PostNL depot manager in Willebroek has not been appealed, and he will be released today.
The Labor Prosecutor declined to comment further. The reasons for extending the detention remain unclear. ‘There can be various reasons for this,’ says John Maes, lawyer for De Bruin. For example, the prosecution may fear that they would flee or destroy evidence. But that is unclear for the time being.’
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Repeated Violations
The arrests were made as part of a long-running investigation into PostNL. The Dutch postal company already came under the attention of the court last year, after inspections at depots repeatedly found infringements of parcel couriers. They are not directly employed by PostNL, but work as independent subcontractors or are employed by a subcontractor. These included undeclared work and the employment of undocumented migrants. During the last check, two depots of the Dutch parcel company were also sealed.
PostNL previously reacted bewildered to the arrests of the Belgian top executives, and spoke of ‘intimidation’ by the Belgian court.
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