Key Witness Arrested at Airport: Lawyer Reports Bizarre Case and Conflicts with Prosecution Service

A key witness who, after mistakes by the Public Prosecution Service, feared for his safety and wanted to leave abroad, was arrested and detained at the airport. This is confirmed by lawyer Peter Schouten reporting in AD. He speaks of a bizarre case and has raised it with Minister Yesilgöz of Justice.

According to Schouten, the failed trip abroad was preceded by mistakes by the Public Prosecution Service. Two weeks ago, for example, an address of the key witness ended up in pieces that went to a suspect in a murder case. The OM would have responded that it was an old address, but then also sent other confidential documents to the same address, says Schouten. The documents also contained the man’s new address.

Furthermore, according to Schouten, there has been a conflict with the Public Prosecution Service about security for some time. He has not had his client for a month. “Until then, if there are problems, he should only call 112 from the Public Prosecution Service.”

Schouten says that after the address became known, his client felt so much panic that he helped to get him abroad. That failed when the man was arrested at the airport. There he was spotted because he had been called up for community service, but had not appeared. According to Schouten, the call never reached him because the OM had used the same old address as in the documents.

Schouten has informed Minister Yesilgöz of Justice in a letter that he no longer has confidence in the Public Prosecution Service. Among other things, he demands that the protection of his client be transferred to the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV).

The Public Prosecution Service says it cannot yet respond substantively to the AD. The organization says that it “obviously accepts the lawyer’s statements and is investigating the case”.

The key witness in question has made statements in three murder cases. These are murders committed between 2001 and 2016.