Magistrate: Turkey blocking child sex allegation against ex-Justice Sec.

Turkey is refusing to cooperate in the investigation into suspicions of pedophile activities of former Secretary General of the Ministry of Security and Justice Joris Demmink. It is believed that the 67 year old Demmink raped two minor boys in Turkey in the 90's. A spokesperson for The Hague's magistrate Ylande Wijnnobel told NRC that Turkey claims to be unable to cooperate for "legal reasons". According to the Turks, the allegations of sex with minors have previously been investigated and the so-called ne bi in idem principle - which states that a person can not be tried twice for the same offence - does not allow another investigation into this case. After three trips made to Turkey to try and question witnesses, Wijnnobel has now ceased her attempts. These witnesses include Mustafa and Osman, who claim that they were raped by Demmink in Turkey in the 90's. Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice tried to convince his Turkish counterpart to help in the investigation over the summer, but in vain. Joris Demmink was the highest official of Justice between 2002 and 2012. The allegations of his sexual exchanges wit underage boys are about 15 years old. He has always denied all allegations about his pedophile-sexual activities. In January last year the court in Den Bosch ordered the Public prosecutor to perform a criminal investigation into these persistent allegations "with diligence". According to the court, there are "sufficient facts and circumstances from which a reasonable suspicion of guilt can be drawn". The Public Prosecutor is still investigating earlier allegations of sexual abuse by Demmink, that occurred in the Netherlands. This investigation is likely to be completed by the end of this year. The Public Prosecutor informed lawyer Adele van der Plas, who is representing the two Turkish men Mustafa and Osman, about the progress of the investigation last month. She finds it strange that Turkey will not hand over old dossier documents, NRC reports. According to her, there is a "secret agreement" between Turkey and the Netherlands - Turkey will not say anything about Demmink in exchange for Dutch cooperation in the lifelong conviction for drug trafficking of Kurdish freedom fighter Baybasin.