Bridal shop owner targeted in fatal Hague explosion left bewildered, says attorney
The owner of the bridal fashion shop believed to be the target of a devastating arson in The Hague is extremely troubled by the incident, which left six people dead and four others hurt. Both she and her attorney, Richard Korver, spoke on Thursday, expressing concern for those affected by the violence at the complex on Tarwekamp on December 7, while also questioning decisions made by authorities which could have led to a different outcome.
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of intentionally causing explosions and a fire which ultimately caused the collapse of five two-storey apartments and the commercial spaces on the ground floor beneath them. Another 14 homes were also damaged.
One of the four, Moshtag B., is rumored to have had a prior relationship with the bridal shop owner. The two also may have had a conflict over attempts to sell the woman’s white Range Rover, which was destroyed in the fire. Korver expressed disdain for attempts to paint the woman as culpable, particularly in stories shared on social media.
“At first I had no idea why. I was just devastated with grief when the full extent of the attack became clear. Only later did the pieces of the puzzle fall into place,” she told the Telegraaf in her first full-length interview since the incident. “I hardly go outside. I hardly sleep and I worry all day long. ‘Why? Why? Why?’ I keep asking myself. How can people be so cruel as to do this to others?”
She should also be seen as a victim, who may very well have been the target of femicide by her 33-year-old former partner, Korver said. At the very least, the bombing was “intended to intimidate” the woman, whose name was redacted for security reasons. “Whether this is an attempt at femicide will have to be investigated,” Korver told the newspaper.
B. is originally from Afghanistan, grew up in Roosendaal, and was arrested at his home in Rotterdam. Two other suspects in the case are Mourad, 29, and Ilyas, 23, cousins who were arrested at their homes in Roosendaal.
The two were reportedly spotted by police on November 29 at night in the parking lot of the Zuiderhout shopping center in Oosterhout. A search of their van uncovered jerry cans and explosives. However, they were released from custody.
“I don’t understand that at all. They weren’t even being watched anymore, while it was clear that they were planning something. They probably wanted to commit that attack then. A week later they succeeded,” she told the Telegraaf.
“[My client] like the rest of the Netherlands, has many questions about what happened and why. For example, why the suspects who had been found about two weeks earlier with heavy explosives were not detained or at least observed, when anyone could have assumed that there was no legal intent,” Korver said. He added, “that might have prevented a lot of misery.”
B. is suspected of commissioning them to carry out the arson on Tarwekamp, sources close to the investigation told AD. The fact that the explosions and fire became so out-of-control that it was impossible to extinguish may be down to their incompetence, the newspaper alleged.
Their case was transferred to the prosecutors handling the Tarwekamp explosion. It is not clear if the additional charge related to planning a separate arson is due to the Oosterhout arrest. The fourth man arrested in the case comes from that town, is also 33, and lives in walking distance to the shopping center. B. is also a co-owner of a gas station in Rotterdam, but authorities have not stated a link between this facility and either incident.
“Nothing is comparable to the suffering of the other victims and relatives,” the woman told the Telegraaf. “They were my neighbors, after all! I know those people! But I am not allowed to go to memorial services or to visit them.”
The woman and her attorney insisted on speaking out, calling out rumors that her business practices were somehow suspect. On top of that, she has “fully cooperated with the authorities” right from the start, and shared information “on her own initiative,” Korver wrote in his statement.
Korver said his client is “still in shock” and wants to be left alone. “Furthermore, she has, with a heavy heart, complied with requests and advice, for example, not to attend a memorial service. [She] sympathizes deeply with the relatives, those who were injured and their loved ones. She finds it terrible that she cannot do this in person for safety reasons,” Korver said.
