The tobacco industry can not be prosecuted, because tobacco manufacturers are not doing anything illegal, the court in The Hague ruled in an article 12 procedure filed by lawyer Benedicte Ficq.
Benedicte Ficq
Sep 25 '18 11:40
Judge Jan Wolter Wabeke officially withdrew from a lawsuit filed by a group of anti-smokers against the tobacco industry. On Monday the lawyer representing this group, Benedicte Ficq, accused the judge of being biased. Later in the day the court in The Hague granted Wabeke's request to withdraw, NOS reports.
Ficq told the media that he learned through an acquaintance that Wabeke had been "condescending" about this case while speaking in private, saying that smoking is the smoker's own responsibility. Ficq asked him to withdraw.
Feb 22 '18 12:40
The Public Prosecutor decided to drop a lawsuit filed against the four large tobacco producers in the Netherlands accusing them of aggravated assault and forgery, among other things. "Smoking is deadly and the design of cigarettes does add to this, but the tobacco manufacturers have not acted in violation of either the law or the current regulatory framework", the Prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday.
Feb 8 '18 14:40
The municipalities of Amsterdam and Utrecht announced that they will support a lawsuit filed against the tobacco industry.
Feb 6 '18 10:50
The Dutch Network for Addiction Care, an umbrella organization for various organizations dealing with addiction, is joining a major lawsuit against the tobacco industry. "The cigarette is a criminal product and all 'dealers' must be dealt with. This product is so harmful. It's unbelievable that it is just in the supermarket", spokesperson Robert van de Graaf of the network said to AD.
Feb 1 '18 09:03
The Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital in Amsterdam filed a lawsuit against the four large tobacco factories in the Netherlands, accusing them of aggravated assault with death as result. According to the hospital, the fight against cancer is a losing battle as long as the tobacco industry continues to deliberately get people addicted, AD reports.
Jul 4 '17 08:09
Lawyers in 17 countries are following Dutch lawyers' lead in suing the tobacco industry for attempted murder or aggravated assault. Anti-smoking organizations and lawyers from 15 countries gathered in Geneva recently to discuss the Dutch appraoch to the, until now, unique case, AD reports.
Germany and Belgium are also interested, but did not make it to the meeting in Switzerland, according to the newspaper.
Nov 17 '16 08:28
The brutal assassination of two Amsterdam criminals in Staatsliedenbuurt in 2012, was recreated during the early hours of Wednesday morning. The goal of the reconstruction was to find out whether escaped target Benaouf A. could really see and identify the gunmen, as he claims, NU.nl reports.
Oct 29 '15 17:30
An Amsterdam appellate court re-sentenced former K-1 heavyweight champion Badr Hari to a 24-month prison term of which 10 months will be a conditional probation period. The prison term is for a series of convictions for violent crimes, including the aggravated assault of Koen Everink during the 2012 edition of Sensation White at the Amsterdam ArenA, the court stated Thursday.
Sep 21 '15 12:26
Badr Hari's lawyer, Benedicte Ficq, has decided to stop defending the kickboxer with immediate effect, citing that the decisions were made "for her own reasons".
Sep 18 '15 15:07
Benedicte Ficq, the lawyer representing kickboxer Badr Hari in the appeal against his sentence in the assault case against him, thinks that Hari has systematically been convicted as guilty in the media and on social media.
Aug 12 '15 11:57
The court in Den Bosch ruled on Wednesday that Marina Sanders will definitely not be prosecuted for killing two robbers in her and her husband's jewelry store Goldies in Deurne last year. Sanders shot and killed the two men after they attacked and injured her husband.
Jan 7 '15 16:16
Surviving family members of two robbers shot during a jewelry store heist are demanding the prosecution of the woman who killed the pair. A lawyer representing the family is calling for an Article 12 procedure with a court assigned to examine the deaths.
Feb 21 '14 19:40
Immediately after the Amsterdam court passed its sentence against kick boxer Badr Hari, Friday, the Public Prosecution announced to appeal the decision. Hari's lawyers, Bénédicte Ficq and Marnix van der Werf, announced they would study the verdict over the next two weeks and then decide whether they will also appeal the sentence.
Feb 21 '14 08:51
Kickboxing champion Badr Hari will hear today if he will be able to continue his fighting career.
Jan 28 '14 04:33
On the last day of Badr Hari's trial he made his closing statement, promising the court he would never be back. Hari stands trial for 9 violations, including a series of assaults in the Amsterdam nightlife scene, businessman Koen Everinks assault in the ArenA being the worst.
Oct 11 '13 00:03
The lawsuit against Badr Hari started Thursday. The kickboxer is on trial for eight violent crimes and a traffic offense.
