Criminal kingpin Holleeder secretly treated in Leiden hospital for heart problems
Willem Holleeder secretly underwent heart surgery at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), sources told De Telegraaf. The Heineken kidnapper spent three weeks in the Leiden hospital, according to the newspaper.
Holleeder is serving a life sentence in the high-security prison in Vught for multiple assassinations. According to Telegraaf’s sources, the prison hospital in Scheveningen was not sufficiently equipped for the major heart surgery he required, which was why the authorities admitted him to the LUMC.
During his time in the Leiden hospital, guards from the Special Support Team - a unit used for prisoners considered a high flight risk - watched him at all times. They entered the hospital in civilian clothes and changed into their uniforms once inside. According to Telegraaf’s sources, the authorities and LUMC didn’t want their presence to cause unrest among other patients and hospital staff.
A source inside the hospital told De Telegraaf that Holleeder wanted toasted sandwiches for breakfast and shared them with his guards.
VVD parliamentarian Ulysse Ellian will ask parliamentary questions about the matter. He wonders whether admitting a serious criminal like Holleeder to a civilian hospital is appropriate. “Holleeder is not in high security for nothing,” Ellian said to the newspaper. “I want to know exactly how he was secured in the LUMC and whether he was able to smuggle messages out, for example, through visitors.
