Radio DJ arrested for driving same route as crown princess Amalia
Radio DJ Serginio Piqué drove from Amsterdam to Antwerp with friends for a night out one Friday afternoon when they were arrested by heavily armed SWAT officers out of nowhere. It turned out they had, unknowingly, taken the same route as Crown Princess Amalia and a Dutch security service had informed the Belgian authorities that they were dangerous, Parool reports.
The incident happened on August 2. The Belgian SWAT team stopped the group of friends on the Frankrijklei in Antwerp city center and talked them out of the car under gunpoint. They were forced to kneel down on the street with their feet crossed and their hands on their heads. They were handcuffed, taken to a police van, and questioned for about an hour.
“The Belgian officers said they had been formed by a Dutch security service that the friends had taken the exact same route as Princess Amalia,” lawyer Vito Shukrula, who is representing Piqué, told Parool. “Amalia is said to have left from the Singel in the center of Amsterdam for Antwerp. My client and his friends are said to have taken the exact same exits.”
“The Belgian police chief eventually told my client and his friends that they were upset that the Dutch services had given them incorrect information and that they had, therefore, deployed on such a large scale for nothing. They were told that at least they now had a good story and that they could continue on their way.” According to Parool, the security service in question is probably the Royal and Diplomatic Security Service (DKDB), which protects members of the royal family.
The group of friends suspect that their skin color played a role in the heavy response and their arrest. “They can’t let go of the image of men wearing balaclavas pointing guns at them. They were on their way to Antwerp for a nice being and feel that they have been greatly wronged by this disproportionate arrest,” Shukrula said. “They didn’t even see Princess Amalia.”
The Dutch crown princess spent around 18 months living abroad due to threats against her starting at the end of 2022. She only returned to her student home in Amsterdam early this year.
Piqué and his friends understand that the princess is being protected, also given the threats against her, Shukrula said. “However, this has now been at the expense of the sense of security and justice of my client and his friends. They hope that the royal family also realizes this.”
The lawyer said he was discussing possible legal steps with Piqué. “But my client and his friends would, first and foremost, very much appreciate it if there would be some recognition or generous compensation from the royal family. After all, it was their security services that tipped off the Belgians.”
The police told Parool that they couldn’t comment on the matter.
