Man wrongly imprisoned by Dutch government for 2.5 years

A man who was arrested at Schiphol in June 2019, although he was not a suspect in any investigation, has been determined wrongfully imprisoned. A court in The Hague ruled the Dutch government abused its power and that the man is entitled to compensation, according to De Volkskrant.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, was arrested by the Marechausee in connection with a money laundering investigation by the Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service (Fiod). However, the entrepreneur of Moroccan descent did not actually have suspect status in any Fiod investigation, according to De Volkskrant.

This information did not come to light for some time. It was not until last April that the Ministry of Justice and Security admitted the arrest was connected to the Fiod. For several years, the man's arrest and subsequent imprisonment was thought to be in connection to an old conviction in France.

"The fact that that turns out not to be the case means that we have conducted mock proceedings in court for 2.5 years," one of the lawyers, Tom de Boer, told De Volkskrant. The former suspect, who was granted a pardon in December 2021, is entitled to a potentially significant amount of compensation from the government, De Boer said.

"I never had a fair chance to defend myself," the man told De Volkskrant. It is still not clear why he was thought to be a suspect at the time of his arrest, according to De Volkskrant.