One in 10 Dutch judges and prosecutors turned down high-profile case due to safety concerns

More than half of the Netherlands’s 2,500 judges and 900 public prosecutors have faced intimidation, many during court cases, and one in 10 has turned down a high-profile case due to concerns for personal safety, according to a new survey.

Of those who continue despite the threats, 40 per cent said they had felt progressively less safe over the past five years, and believed the security precautions offered by the state were totally inadequate. “It’s a losing battle”, said one prosecutor. “It’s like fighting automatic weapons with water pistols.”

One-third of the threats reported by the professionals were linked to organised crime, primarily the Dutch drugs underworld – and particularly the infamous Marengo trial where 17 defendants are charged in connection with 13 separate murders, all linked to Moroccan gangster Ridouan Taghi. There have been three additional murders since the Marengo trial – the most complex in Dutch legal history – began in 2021. All three related directly to the key state witness, known as Nabil B.

Lawyer Derk Wiersum, who was defending B, was shot dead as he said goodbye to his wife on their doorstep in Amsterdam in 2019. Nabil B’s brother had previously been shot dead at work. Journalist Peter de Vries, who began advising B after Wiersum’s murder, was shot dead in 2021.

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Wiersum was married with two young children, and his killing in broad daylight led many other lawyers working in the courts system to reassess their circumstances. Around 8 per cent admit they considered leaving the legal profession.

“Since the murder of Derk Wiersum I’m putting myself first,” said one judge. “I have a young family as well. Let other colleagues take those dangerous cases if they wish.”

“The sheer volume of threats faced by our members is astounding,” said Marc Fierstra, chair of the Dutch Association for the Judiciary, whose members took part in the survey.

“Our members used to do their jobs without a thought for their safety. That is certainly no longer the case. And while organised crime may pose the most serious threats, there are problems in other areas too, even in some child custody cases.”

He said threats could vary from aggression in the courtroom, to being approached in the street or even at home, or to being persistently harassed online. “It’s all part of a polarisation in society that generates the feeling of an unsafe environment, not just for lawyers but for other professions as well, such as journalists and politicians.”

One answer being looked at by the government, says Fierstra, is a pool of lawyers at various levels who are willing to work on high-risk cases, with additional personal security and financial compensation.

Additional mental health support is already on offer where required.