Ultra-secure prison to get its own courtroom to reduce prison break opportunity

A courtroom will be built within the Extra Secure Institution (EBI) in Vught, where the country’s most serious convicted criminals and suspects are detained. Judges there will be able to handle the sessions of criminal cases, reducing the need to transfer detainees to courthouses elsewhere in the Netherlands. The small courtroom within the walls of the penitentiary will cost 15 million euros and is already under construction, wrote Legal Protection Minister Franc Weerwind in a letter to the Tweede Kamer.

The courtroom on site should reduce the risk of a violent breakout attempt or assassination attempt when suspects are transported to a trial. The logistical procedure includes rows and rows of armored vehicles that often drive fast and with flashing lights and sirens active, causing serious traffic nuisance issues, especially in Vught. The EBI facility houses criminals such as convicted organized crime leader Willem Holleeder, suspected crime boss Ridouan Taghi whose criminal case is now pending, and also Syrians who covertly traveled to the Netherlands and are either suspected of terrorism or have been convicted on such charges

Prison transport is expected to cause additional problems and risks in the coming years, because several large infrastructure projects are planned in the Noord-Brabant municipality. This will make the secure prison even less accessible. The mayor of Vught had asked the minister to take measures to limit these security risks and to improve the situation regarding the EBI. "By administering justice within the walls of the penitentiary in Vught, we are increasing safety for society," Weerwind reported. There will also be a new temporary road constructed near the prison.

The minister has been working for some time on plans to contain the sometimes extreme risks associated with suspected detained for serious crime, including terrorism. For example, a video facility will soon be installed in Vught to digitally complete aspects of prisoner processing within the penal institution.

There is not yet a completion date for the intended courtroom, where there will be a limited amount of space for the public and the press. A judge can decide for each criminal case whether status hearings, witness questioning or possibly substantive trial hearings will take place in the EBI. Weerwind is looking into whether there is sufficient interest in using the internal courtroom facility.

A combined detention facility and courthouse is already present at Schiphol Airport. In addition, there will be extra secure hearing locations in Lelystad and Vlissingen. The new measures are in addition to these, said Weerwind.