Hilversum man, 48, arrested for threatening national broadcast center this week
Police in Hilversum arrested a 48-year-old resident on suspicion of making a threat against the Media Park, a national broadcast center and studio complex based in the Noord-Holland city. The threat prompted several media outlets and newsrooms to implement extra security measures as a police helicopter circled overhead on Monday morning.
The Hilversum man was taken into custody at his home at about 8 a.m. on Wednesday. The suspect’s motives were not made clear a few hours after the arrest.
The nature of the threat has also remained unconfirmed. An email from broadcaster VPRO sent to staff that morning states, "We have just been informed by the police about a possible unsafe situation at the Media Park. The police are conducting extra surveillance and that is why a police helicopter is now circulating above the Media Park. The media park's security is on heightened alert and is closely monitoring the entrances/exits."
National public news broadcaster NOS joined the appeal, and asked staff to remain inside. The news organizations RTL Nieuws and Hart van Nederland are also located at the complex, along with numerous other production companies and their staff.
“The police took the statement seriously and immediately imposed increased surveillance. There were several officers at and in the vicinity of the Media Park. Early in the afternoon it turned out that there were no concrete indications and the deployment was scaled down,” police said on Wednesday.
The investigation was still ongoing. The man can remain in custody for up to three days without charge before facing an arraignment. In some urgent cases, that period is allowed to be extended by another three days.
At the arraignment, an examining magistrate can order the man to remain in custody for up to two weeks if the investigation has developed. A three-judge panel would then have to decide whether to remand the man into pre-trial detention for a longer period.
