The Ruinerwold case court is not happy with technology Inland

Not all journalists realized that they had to turn off their own microphone and shortly after the start, the court had to interrupt the hearing because of the technical problems. Attempts were also made to establish a connection with one of the suspects in the detention house, but this has not yet been successful.

In the courtroom there are only three judges, a registrar and two prosecutors. Three lawyers involved are in contact with the court with a video and sound connection. Both suspects are not present. The court organizes the hearing in this way to minimize the risk of infection with the coronavirus.

The case concerns the years of deprivation of liberty of six children of the main suspect Gerrit Jan van D. The man lived with his family in a remote farm near the Drenthe village of Ruinerwold. They had no contact with the outside world. Fellow suspect Josef B. fully supported Van D. according to the Public Prosecution Service. The case came to light last October when a son of Van D. talked about the situation in a local pub.

The court will decide on Monday whether the two men will be detained.

The existence of the Van D. family started rolling in October last year, after a son started talking about the situation in a local pub. Both suspects were arrested and have been detained ever since.

Van D., whose wife died in 2004, had nine children. The youngest six lived with him on the farm, in seclusion, from birth. Nobody was allowed to know about their existence.

According to the OM, the children lived in a kind of religious spell. Van D. is said to have abused his children from an early age. Some of the children would still like to live by farm-keeping religious rules. They were usually not literally locked up – the door was often open. The court visited the farm last year to see the situation with its own eyes.

Van D. suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 2016 and is unable to speak. Earlier this year, the court determined that he should be examined neurologically. The judges also decided to conduct a behavioral observation of both suspects in the Pieter Baan Center.

According to the Public Prosecution Service, Austrian Josef B. was “the face to the outside world”, which meant that Van D. and his children could remain protected. B. says he is not aware of any harm. “I have a clear conscience,” he said earlier. “I have not deprived anyone of his freedom.”

LIVE – Reporter Saskia Belleman is present at the lawsuit. You can read her tweets at the bottom of this article (from about 10:00).

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