Netherlands helped fund human rights org. suspected of corruption in European Parliament

The Netherlands helped finance a human rights organization that is being investigated for corruption in the European Parliament. Last year, the Dutch government paid 500,000 euros to the suspected foundation, called No Peace Without Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to NRC.

No Peace Without Justice is one of two NGOs involved in the Brussels corruption scandal. Several Members of the European Parliament are suspected of accepting bribes from Qatar, which tried to influence the parliament’s political and economic decisions. No Peace Without Justice director Niccolò Figà-Talamanca was recently released after three months in custody. Last week, the police raided the NGO’s headquarters in Rome.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to NRC that the Netherlands contributed 500,000 euros to No Peace Without Justice last year. The Ministry said it couldn’t comment on the project because it “could put people in Afghanistan in a vulnerable situation.”

The Ministry currently has no reservations about the subsidy to the suspected organization. According to Foreign Affairs, No Peace Without Justice “delivered as agreed.” The Ministry has since stopped the support because of the organization’s suspected involvement in the Brussels bribery scandal.

No Peace Without Justice told NRC that the Dutch grant was “to support human rights lawyers and civil society leaders in Afghanistan.”