Wed March 23, 2022 4:49 PM
OLDEBER SALE – A 60-year-old man from Oldeberkoop has been sentenced to three months in prison, of which two months are suspended, for threatening Sandra Korthuis as acting mayor of the municipality of Ooststellingwerf and the Groningen Member of Parliament Wieke Paulusma (D66). The man was also banned from contact and location with both victims.
The man did not agree with the corona measures. His wife owns a flea market and had to close it, as a non-essential shop, at the beginning of this year. “Who decides that?” said the man to the judge. His wife opened the store anyway and was fined 5000 euros for this. The man then sent Korthuis threatening emails out of dissatisfaction and threatened the politician on social media.
Extra locks on the door
The threats hit Korthuis and Paulusma hard. “He knew where I live, the man wrote on Facebook. Since then I have felt unsafe in my own house,” said the parliamentarian. “How do you tell the children why there should be extra locks on the doors. These threats are also visible to them,” she said. Mayor Korthuis did not want the man near her anymore, she said.
Respect
The judge finds that the man has seriously crossed the border. “Not long ago, drivers went to work on their bicycles. This is no longer possible today. In front of me is an almost crying Member of Parliament. We have to go back to the time when we treat each other with respect,” said the judge. De Fries confessed to sending the threats by email and Facebook, except for one email. The man was in Amsterdam on the day of shipment. “Someone else must have done that,” he said.
sorry
The e-mail in question was found on the Frisian’s computer as deleted. He was also charged with that threat. The man bonded on sitting. He hadn’t meant it so much. He didn’t even know politician Paulusma. The party she represents, but with which he had nothing (anymore) nowadays. He showed remorse towards the Groningen victim, but the mayor heard no remorse whatsoever.
‘Tribunals are coming’
Korthuis tried at the beginning of January to talk to the Frisian and his wife. A few days earlier, there was a disturbance in the wife’s shop after she had thrown it open. A group of protesters and a few tractors kept the officers at a distance. The woman was fined for opening her shop. That fine was discussed during the conversation with the mayor. Grimly de Fries snapped at Korthuis: “There will be tribunals and then we’ll see what will happen.”
The public prosecutor demanded a prison sentence of six weeks, of which two weeks suspended. “The drivers must be able to do their work without hindrance. The gentleman made a horrific mistake,” said the prosecutor. The judge agreed with the public prosecutor that only a prison sentence is appropriate, but considerably stretched the conditional part. “You have been in contact with the law for something like this before, the chance is too great that you will do this again,” the judge said.
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