The Public Prosecution Service has demanded prison sentences of up to seven years in a criminal case about the sale of weapons to so-called ‘sovereigns’. That reports the Public Prosecution Service Monday. Ten people are on trial in the case. In addition to a number of sovereigns, it also concerns an arms seller and an intermediary.
The eight sovereigns on trial are suspected of, among other things, forming local militias and making plans for “crimes with terrorist intent.” The highest sentence has been demanded against three suspects who allegedly formed a local militia in Deventer, each of seven years in prison.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, some of the suspects in the case are members of the terrorist organization ‘Common Law Netherlands Earth (CLNE)’, also known as the ‘People’s Council’. According to the Public Prosecution Service, eight of the suspects belong to the radical group under the sovereigns, which is prepared to use violence. At the beginning of October, four and six years in prison were demanded against the two people involved in the arms sale.
Sovereigns are people who turn away from the state and the laws and regulations in the country where they live. According to the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) this anti-institutional movement has several tens of thousands of followers in the Netherlands. The Public Prosecution Service emphasizes that the majority of sovereigns “do nothing punishable”. It would involve several dozen to a hundred sovereigns who are prepared for a violent confrontation with the government.
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