Piet S. must be transferred from court to normal prison regime
August 28, 2024

The well-known gangster from The Hague, Piet S. (68), will no longer be detained under special strict security measures. The Court of Appeal in The Hague has ruled on appeal that Piet S. may no longer be on the so-called GVM list. Earlier, the judge in summary proceedings, which S. initiated, ruled that there are risks that justify placement on the GVM list. But S. must now go to a normal regime.

By @Wim van de Pol

Piet S. was arrested in 2020 and sentenced to 17 years in prison by the court in 2023 for leading a criminal organization that produced and traded drugs, laundered money and used violence. His appeal is still ongoing.

In 2021, he was placed on the list of prisoners with a high flight and/or social risk by the selection officer of the Ministry of Justice and after consultation with a national committee. Not in the highest category ('extreme') but in the category 'high'. In his case, this means, among other things, that he can only have supervised visits, that visits are listened to, that he has very little time to make phone calls and that all his mail is inspected. He can also only be locked up in a small number of very high-security penitentiaries.

Anonymous information
Based on anonymous information, the selection committee concluded on behalf of the minister that there was a high risk that Piet S. would be freed during a transport. Later, it was added that there was a risk that he would become involved in a liquidation (of himself or someone else) and threats.

Since 2021, the position on the GVM list has been extended every six months.

S.'s lawyer Esther Blok had argued in summary proceedings and at the court of appeal that there was no complaint about S.'s detention, and that the reports about his behavior were positive. According to her and S., the information received was unreliable and also not very concrete.

A lot of money
The State stated that S. has a lot of money and contacts in South America, where he could flee to.

The court finds that this in itself is not an argument for placement on the GVM list. In that case, all alleged leaders of criminal organizations could end up on the GVM list due to flight risk, the court finds.

Explanation
According to the court of appeal, the judiciary may use "soft" (anonymous) information. But according to the court, the legislation also prescribes that the State must provide as much explanation as possible. And that is completely lacking, according to the court. The court wants to be able to review the decision of the selection officer and that is impossible.

Furthermore, after 2021, no new information has come in that confirms the original information, nor have any other signals.

The court finds that at this moment the placement of Piet S. on the GVM list is 'unlawful'. The court also finds that a downscaling to the 'increased' category is not an option.

This means that Piet S. will have to be placed in a normal regime.

https://www.crimesite.nl/piet-s-moet-van-gerechtshof-naar-normaal-gevangenisregime/