The number of people prosecuted for human trafficking in the Netherlands last year, was a quarter lower than the year before, NRC reported on Monday based on figures from the Council for the Judiciary. This does not necessarily mean that human trafficking decreased, but rather that the police are giving priority to other crimes, experts said to the newspaper.
Last year 103 people were convicted of human trafficking, compared to 139 in 2015 and 156 in 2013.
Over the first five moths of this year the Ministry of Security and Justice deported 480 migrants who were convicted of a crime. Among them were 60 Albanians, 60 Surinamese, 50 Algerians and 50 Moroccans, a spokesperson for the ministry confirmed to NU.nl after reports in AD.
The Ministry's figures show that the proportion of criminal migrants that were forced to leave the Netherlands increased every year since 2011. In that year 72 percent of this group were deported, now it is 80 percent.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte is pleased that those responsible for downing flight MH17 will be prosecuted in the Netherlands, calling the decision the "next step on the way to finding the truth." The Dutch government is also signing a treaty with the Ukraine on Friday that will allow for prosecution on behalf of all 298 victims, not only the 196 Dutch, AD reports.
The Netherlands' budget for fighting crime hasn't increased since 2009, according to Statistics Netherlands. From 2009 to 2015 government spent 12.9 billion euros a year on crime fighting.
The Dutch judiciary will prosecute NS and several former executives at the railway company and its subsidiaries over irregularities in the procurement of public transport in Limburg, a spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor confirmed to NU.nl.
Austria expects to soon make a decision on whether or not PVV leader Geert Wilders will be prosecuted for hate speech because of statements he made in a speech in Hofburg on March 27th last year
Criminal law expert Theo de Roos fears that the corruption scandals recently surrounding Ukrainian secret service SBU will make it more difficult to prosecute those responsible for the disaster with MH17. Much of the evidence in the criminal investigation comes from the SBU
The Public Prosecutor has charged Helmond company Xycarb Ceramics with death by negligence for the death of two employees in August last year.
Prostitutes under the age of 21 years will not be prosecuted. With this measure Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice hopes that young prostitutes will be more willing to turn to the police to report sexual exploitation.
On Monday activist Abulkasim Al-Jaberi received a punishment settlement of 500 euros for insulting the king and queen. This is after the case against him was put on hold. According to the Public Prosecutor, the letter was sent by "mistake", NRC reports.
A few dozen people gathered on the Museumplein in Amsterdam on Sunday afternoon for a "Fuck Racism - Fuck the King" demonstration.
The words "Fuck the King" was spray-painted on the Royal Palace in Amsterdam sometime during Wednesday night. The city of Amsterdam has removed the text. The police have launched an investigation to find the vandals.
Amsterdam Mayor Eberhard van der Laan does not see activist Abulkasim Al-Jaberi's "fuck the king, fuck the queen, fuck the royal house" statements worthy of prosecuting, according to the Parool. The Public Prosecutor is prosecuting Al-Jaberi for his statements made during a demonstration against Zwarte Piet on November 16th last year.
The Public Prosecutor will not prosecute organizations that use the figure of Zwarte Piet. According to the prosecutor, using the Zwarte Piet figure is not a punishable offense.
The man suspected of extorting television producer John de Mol and his sister, presenter Linda de Mol, has been released from jail, reports NOS. Dirk Klaas M., a 70-year old man from Zeist, suffers from a severe form of dementia, and doctors believe his health would further deteriorate if he stayed in his cell any longer.
On Thursday Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs and Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice had a meeting with representatives of the countries who had passengers on flight MH17. The meeting took place in the margins of the cyber conference at the World Forum in The Hague.
The Public Prosecutor in the Hague announced on Monday the decision to appeal the sentence a Noord-Holland court imposed on a 46-year old man for secretly taping girls and women in field hockey locker rooms. The 1.5-year sentence, with eight months suspended, is viewed as too low, particularly as the man was recording girls under 18 years of age.
The public prosecutor is calling for sentences equal to life in prison for Adil A. and Anouar B., suspected of murdering friends of a rival gang member, and shooting at their rival as well as two motorcycle police officers with a Kalashnikov rifle. The incident terrorized the Staatsliedenbuurt neighborhood in Amsterdam in December 2012, and left Youssef Lkhorf and Said El Yazidi dead.
A court in the Netherlands issued a suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service for the jeweler whose wife shot two robbers in his jewelry store last year. The sentence, handed down on Friday, was for the possession of an illegal weapon.
A suspected drunk driver arrested after a hit-and-run killed a baby and injured a father last Thursday in Lutten, Overijssel, is now held on suspicion of manslaughter.
The Dutch Safety Board is continuing its investigation into the fatal monster truck accident in Haaksbergen, and will release a report on the incident no sooner than May. The public prosecutor also will not have completed their criminal investigation until even later in the year, a spokesperson told Nu.nl on Wednesday.
The specialists at the Netherlands Forensic Institute (NFI) fears that crime scene investigation and the solving of complex crimes will be compromised because of budget cuts by Minister Ivo Opstelten of Security and Justice.
Three men were arrested by special police task forces in Amsterdam on Friday as part of a criminal investigation into the illegal possession of weaponry. The three were in possession of heavy firearms and grenades at the time of their arrest, police said Monday.
Russian hacker Vladimir Drinkman will be extradited to the United States, a court in the Netherlands determined Tuesday. Washington wants to prosecute Drinkman for hacking U.S. companies, being a member of a criminal organization, counterfeiting payment cards, money laundering and fraud.
