The cabinet is making Vught’s Extra Secure Institution (EBI) regime stricter for serious criminals who are in prison there. They can, among other things, call fewer, receive fewer visitors and have less contact with each other. There will also be visual surveillance during conversations between the lawyers and these prisoners.
The new rules are intended to ensure that inmates in the EBI do not abuse their contacts with the outside world to carry out criminal activities. Minister Franc Weerwind (legal protection) writes this on Monday, also on behalf of Minister Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius (justice and security), in a letter to the House of Representatives.
According to Weerwind, the current rules are not up to par. Currently, inmates can call for ten minutes three times a week. They can also receive three visitors a week. For the foreseeable future, inmates will only be able to call for ten minutes once a week. In addition, the other caller must physically be in a location designated by the Judicial Institutions Agency (DJI). The maximum number of visitors is one per day.
Weerwind is also working on a law to impose even stricter restrictions on a small group of prisoners in the EBI. For example, the minister wants to make it possible to ban certain methods of communication or contact with certain people if they present “very serious risks for the safety of society”. This includes visually monitoring the conversations between that specific group of inmates and their lawyer.
The measures are a direct result of the contact between Ridouan T. and his attorney at the time and also his cousin Youssef T. It is suspected that Ridouan may continue to lead his criminal organization because Youssef allegedly acted as an intermediary.
Ridouan is also said to have planned an outbreak by the EBI and that prison employees had to go into hiding because the criminals tried to find out their addresses.
Minister Weerwind wants to present the bill to the House of Representatives early next year.
–
