Tuesday, 21 January 2014 - 17:13
Ex-Justice chief to be investigated for child abuse
Former Secretary-General of the Ministry of Security and Justice, Joris, Demmink, has to be prosecuted by the Publice Prosecution for alleged sexual crimes, ruled the court in Arnhem, Tuesday.
Demmink has been suspected of crimes having to do with sexual child abuse for years, but has always denied the allegations.
judge's gavel
Chris Potter
stockmonkeys Two Turkish men claimed Demmink raped them, sometime during the nineties, when they were 13 and 14 years old, during one of his business trips. They filed police reports in 2008 and 2010, and were threatened afterwards. The Public Prosecution has to further investigate the case because 'the available evidence is sufficient to warrant reasonable suspicion of involvement in rape,' said a counselor for the Arnhem court. Of the two witnesses in the case, one is already deceased, leaving one in Turkey that needs to be questioned. Demmink has always insisted he has not been back to Turkey after 1987, but a document surfaced showing the former official had traveled to Turkey on June 20, 1996. The two Turkish men filed police reports twice, but the Public Prosecution could not find any incriminating evidence during their investigation of Demmink and did not prosecute. The alleged victims did not leave it at that and initiated an article-12 procedure, asking the court in Arnhem to order the Public Prosecution to do so. 'We wanted the claim to be dismissed, because we never found evidence Demmink had indeed gone to Turkey,' said a spokesperson for the Prosecution. The prosecution investigated all the travel data it could find on Demmink, and will have to look for ways to dig even deeper. 'After all these years we're finally being taken seriously. We had an overload of evidence,' said the lawyer for the two Turkish men, Adèle van der Plas. The court stresses that their ruling to investigate the former Secretary-General does not mean he's guilty. So far, the state has paid the court expenses for Demmink, who is involved in several lawsuits over this unsavory issue. However minister Ivo Opstelten announced Tuesday he will reevaluate the course of action. 'This investigation is justified by the fact that the allegations keep surfacing in the media. The inquiry will be carried out by the magistrate and concerns some important elements that have so far not been adequately highlighted,' said Mischa Wladimiroff, Demmink's lawyer, who is certain the investigation will 'confirm that his client befalls no blame.'
Chris Potter
stockmonkeys Two Turkish men claimed Demmink raped them, sometime during the nineties, when they were 13 and 14 years old, during one of his business trips. They filed police reports in 2008 and 2010, and were threatened afterwards. The Public Prosecution has to further investigate the case because 'the available evidence is sufficient to warrant reasonable suspicion of involvement in rape,' said a counselor for the Arnhem court. Of the two witnesses in the case, one is already deceased, leaving one in Turkey that needs to be questioned. Demmink has always insisted he has not been back to Turkey after 1987, but a document surfaced showing the former official had traveled to Turkey on June 20, 1996. The two Turkish men filed police reports twice, but the Public Prosecution could not find any incriminating evidence during their investigation of Demmink and did not prosecute. The alleged victims did not leave it at that and initiated an article-12 procedure, asking the court in Arnhem to order the Public Prosecution to do so. 'We wanted the claim to be dismissed, because we never found evidence Demmink had indeed gone to Turkey,' said a spokesperson for the Prosecution. The prosecution investigated all the travel data it could find on Demmink, and will have to look for ways to dig even deeper. 'After all these years we're finally being taken seriously. We had an overload of evidence,' said the lawyer for the two Turkish men, Adèle van der Plas. The court stresses that their ruling to investigate the former Secretary-General does not mean he's guilty. So far, the state has paid the court expenses for Demmink, who is involved in several lawsuits over this unsavory issue. However minister Ivo Opstelten announced Tuesday he will reevaluate the course of action. 'This investigation is justified by the fact that the allegations keep surfacing in the media. The inquiry will be carried out by the magistrate and concerns some important elements that have so far not been adequately highlighted,' said Mischa Wladimiroff, Demmink's lawyer, who is certain the investigation will 'confirm that his client befalls no blame.'