Court finds Veenendaal guilty of privacy breach in mosque probe

The municipality of Veenendaal acted unlawfully in an investigation into the Taubah foundation and mosque, the court ruled. Veenendaal commissioned the company NTA to investigate the organization and its community without Taubah’s knowledge, thereby violating privacy rights.

Several municipalities had Muslim communities investigated by Training & Advice (NTA). This is the first time a court has ruled on the legality of these investigations. The investigation in Veenendaal took place in 2018. The NRC exposed this practice in 2021. In addition to Veenendaal, the investigations also occurred in Almere, Delft, and other cities.

Veenendaal is being held accountable for the damage that was inflicted on Taubah as a result of the investigation. What the damage is will be decided by an attorney representing Taubah at a later stage.

The municipality also shared the report with others without offering the opportunity for a response. Emails show that the report was shared with several ministries. NRC and Bureau Spotlight previously reported that the investigation was sent to, among others, the Dutch intelligence service AIVD.

The municipality did not deny this during the court hearing earlier this year. Veenendaal must inform Taubah’s lawyers within 30 days exactly who received the report. If not, the municipality will be fined 1,000 euros per day, up to a maximum of 25,000 euros.

Exactly who was interviewed for the investigation is unknown to the municipality. However, it claims that the interviews were primarily conducted with theologians and anthropologists.

Taubah states that members of the mosque community were questioned about the organization, its religious identity, ideology, and activities. According to the court, it is indeed clear that interviews were conducted not only with experts but also with individuals connected to the foundation itself, without Taubah’s knowledge.

According to the municipality, the respondents were indeed informed. However, the foundation and members of the mosque community were not, and therefore, the court ruled that the information about internal matters and views within the organization was still obtained covertly. The municipality never shared the full report with the foundation.

Through his lawyers, Taubah board member Bilal Riani called the verdict “fantastic.”

Veenendaal's mayor, Gert-Jan Kats van Veenendaal, apologized for the investigation after the verdict. “We should never have commissioned this investigation,” said Kats. He offered his apologies, “also for the consequences this has had for the relationship between the municipality and the Taubah foundation in particular, and the Muslim community in general.”

The municipality will work to “restore trust and cooperate toward a peaceful society.”