17 Oct 2023 at 20:52
There will be no new judge in the interim proceedings involving a Dutch national who has been detained in Spain for almost two months on suspicion of terrorism. It is suspected that the man, without even knowing it, was wrongly put on an alert list.
The man who was stuck in Spain is a Tilburg citizen with a Moroccan background. He stayed in Spain while in transit to Morocco. There he was suddenly arrested.
Spanish authorities linked him to “a terrorist group from Arnhem”, his lawyer previously reported. But according to his lawyer, the man “never harbored any radical ideas” and he never “came close” to them.
The mayors of Tilburg and Arnhem asked the public prosecutor in Spain to release the man. According to them, the national police and the Dutch Public Prosecution Service have said that the man is not wanted or has been placed on a wanted list. It is unclear why the man was arrested.
Too few chairs for interested parties in the hearing room
The summary proceedings attracted a large audience. Muslim Rights Watch Netherlands had made an appeal to show support for the man. Dozens of interested parties responded.
On Tuesday, September 19, a day before the hearing, the man was put on a plane to the Netherlands. But problems arose during the hearing. There was not enough room in the hearing room for interested parties, even though they had been registered. The lawyer suggested adding extra chairs, but she said the judge was “not flexible”.
According to the lawyer, the judge also said that there is no longer an urgent interest for summary proceedings, because the man has already been released. For these reasons, the lawyer no longer had confidence in the judge and submitted a request for recusal.
That request has now been rejected. According to the recusal chamber, there is no bias on the part of the judge or the appearance of partiality. It is not yet known when the summary proceedings will be continued.
Beeld: Getty Images
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TilburgSpainArnhemCrime in the NetherlandsDomestic
2023-10-17 18:52:02
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