It back. Again. And again.
No, Ren嶪 hasn performed a black widow spider act on me, and I do realise Ie dropped from radar for a while, but believe you me, it was a kind of self-protection. For the past few months, Ie been lamenting my fate because things were so hectic at work. They were in fact so hectic that apart from managing a nationwide intranet project, I also had to supervise the daily stuff, and handle some 500+ e-mails per day. That, and some trillion other little details that deserved my undivided attention. All from behind two or more computer screens, which caused me to see pop-up windows in my sleep. So I took some time off from my existence online to recharge my mental batteries, did lots of research (there a PhD-thesis trying to get out), reading, walking, as well as some serious photography, and generally got in touch with real life again. Your comments however (you know who you are) and birthday wishes are greatly appreciated, and you all deserve much better than my rather abrupt silence for which I want to apologise. Thanks!
The other thing which I felt I really had to blog about was brought to my attention by a very dear friend from my MDD-years who mailed me some ten days ago asking if I heard about 18-y/o Natalee Holloway from Alabama (http://edition.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/11/missing.teen/index.html). Since it involves the sudden disappearance of a young US girl on the island of Aruba (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/aa.html), a tiny autonomous overseas region of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean sea, and the involvement of amongst others the Dutch teenage son of a Dutch judge serving on Aruba, I thought I might add to the discussion, since it is my job to know a thing or two about Dutch criminal law procedures.
As this moment, five suspects are being held in custody on this sun-drenched island that is almost synonymous with holiday, fun and recreation. A less well-known attraction for some are the drugs, smuggled in from nearby Colombia and Venezuela. For that reason, a contingent of Dutch marines (many of them US-trained) is stationed permanently on the island, to prevent the coke cartels from taking over the place. So far, theye been pretty successful, effectively deterring drug criminals from turning Aruba into a staging area for US-bound transports.
I don know about the internal US news coverage but my guess is that this case has a pretty high profile in the media. It was featured on CNN, NBC and BBC World News on our cable. In contrast, our pwn media treat it as et another?murder case on the other side of the world (from our perspective anyway), only of interest because the teenage son of a Dutch judge is involved. The Dutch don particularly care for the plight of their brethren rotting in overseas jails, nor are they particularly keen on abduction and murder stories in far away countries, unless the hype reaches OJ Simpsonesque proportions.
When Natalee disappeared, she was accompanied by Joran van der Sloot (pron.: sl-ooh-t ?with a longish oh?sound, not o?as in oodles ?as yet, no US-network commentator seems to have picked up on that one), and two Surinamese brothers. This isn too surprising since Surinam was a Dutch dependency which gained its independence as late as 1975, and from what I understand, it pretty common for Surinamese people to frequently travel to Aruba. Two hotel guards are being held as well in connection with this case, raising the total number of suspects to five.
Details of the story can be found on all major US news websites, so I won repeat it here. All I can say that the chances that poor Natalee will be found alive, are slim. What struck me however, were the comments on the extremely popular and influential news blog geenstijl.nl (literally: styleless .nl) and an article on cnn.com. The Dutch online community on geenstijl.nl already seems to have reached a verdict about 17-y/o Joran, even though he still a suspect and the girl body hasn yet been retrieved . True to the blog name, suggestions as to his punishment lack any form of subtlety. Most commenters agree that Joran was responsible for Natalee safety, and for his failure to do so (whether intentionally or not) he should be hung, drawn and quartered according to most. There were a lot of even less tasteful suggestions as to what should be done with this boy which I do no care to repeat here, because even I have my principles when it comes to exposing the weird ways of the Dutch.
Whatever the outcome of this case, his father days as a judge on this island are numbered. Even if Joran is innocent, the havoc this case will wreak on the professional credibility of this judge will prevent him from ever working there as a magistrate. Similar to the British system, a Dutch judge is appointed by the Crown for life (but must retire from active duty when he/she reaches the age of 70). And the possibility of resuming his career back in the Netherlands too, is very doubtful.
Like many other European countries, the Dutch do not rely on a jury. Major cases are brought before a panel of three judges who must agree on a verdict after hearing the prosecution, the defence, witnesses, forensic investigators and other experts. So far, so good.
I was however, very surprised if not stunned, when I read the statement of CNN law expert Theodore Simon( http://edition.cnn.com/2005/LAW/06/10/simon/index.html) saying that "these five can be held by officials in Aruba without any formal charges? Excuse me?! The adaptation of Dutch law that makes up Aruban law (which is still administered by Dutch magistrates since Aruba partially falls under Dutch jurisdiction) doesn allow random detention of suspects any more than US law does, contrary to what Simon suggests. Dutch law relies on the basis of easonable suspicion? meaning that there must be reasonably solid facts linking certain individuals to a particular crime. No links, no reasonable suspicion, no arrests, it as simple as that. However, since the Dutch courts don have a bail system, a suspect is either allowed to go free under certain conditions, awaiting further investigation and possibly a trial, or is held in custody until his case is presented before court. This means that if the investigating magistrate believes you might be a potential risk to the community, you remain in jail for the duration of the investigation. Money is no option here, only the solid facts count. Theodore Simon also suggests that the accused have the right to a o over? a re-trial, which would mean that unlike in the US, double jeopardy is allowed in Aruba (or the Netherlands for that matter). Not so. Both the suspects and the prosecution have the right to appeal, similar to the US system. The case will then be handled by a higher court. It just another stage during one and the same legal procedure, which is essentially different from being tried twice in the same manner for the same offence, aka double jeopardy. This can go on all the way to the Dutch High Court here in The Hague where we live. Only in the very rare case of an absolute miscarriage of justice, can a real re-trial be ordered which usually means that the accused party is officially acquitted and compensated for time served in jail.
Apart from the fact that everyone involved in the abduction and ost likely- killing of this girl should get whatever they deserve (that, and some treatment involving heavy, blunt objects as far as I concerned), I find it appalling that a source like CNN lets a well-respected legal mind utter such nonsense without double-checking, making the Dutch/Aruban legal systems look pretty barbaric, even though Theodore Simon claims they are ust different?
BTW, a common complaint from the US media is that the Aruban justice authorities are very tight-lipped about the case. Sorry, but that my fault. Two years ago, my colleagues and I decided that in criminal cases, any pre-trial information should be distributed very sparingly so as not let pre-trial publicity ruin the case. This decision was then converted into official policy, and it this what the camera crews from CNN, NBC and CBS are up against.
In the coming weeks Il try to catch up with your blogs. Kick me if I don.
PS. Does anyone know a good website that explains the legal procedures surrounding the Michael Jackson case? What happens for instance in the case of a hung jury? And for how long exactly is a jury allowed to deliberate?
This week's photo challenge hosted by Chez_Couronne: Idolatry. For more information about the Photo Challenge, click here.
Left to right: graveyard sculpture, Limburg, the Netherlands - Soccer shirts stand, London, UK - "Evil Eye" plaque, Marmaris, Turkey.
L. to r.: Admiralty Arch, London, UK - Admiral Nelson, Trafalgar Sq., London, UK - Christmas tree at our home, something my maternal great-grandmother would most certainly have classified as idolatry.
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