• Home /
• Statewatch Database /
• Netherlands: Opstand case dropped

Netherlands: Opstand case dropped

01 January 1996

The public prosecutor's office has decided after 15 months to drop the case against Jan Muter and Hans Krikke, members of the "Opstand" journalists collective, because of lack of evidence. The two were arrested in March 1995 under suspicion of having written press statements for the mysterious "Rara" bombing campaign. However, fifteen months of intensive police investigations have brought no evidence apart from some press clippings from a national newspaper. Muter and Krikke have been pressing for a court trial, because only then could they expect to receive compensation for the damage to their careers and their organization. Many "respectable" customers have shied away from them under the impression that the prosecutor would at least have some ground for his vigorous pursuit of "Opstand". Now the case has been dropped without going to trial. The prosecutor has refused even to present a formal excuse, claiming that he has done the right thing and that such a failure is "all in the game". Thereupon, Krikke and Muter have laid down a claim for a half million guilders in damages. Under current jurisprudence however, they are unlikely to receive anything more than token compensation for the days they spent in custody. See Statewatch, vol 4 nos 5 & 6, vol 5 no 3.