Remco S. is still walking around freely in India, after previously confessing to killing José van de Vliet (35) from Waalre, according to the Indian police. This week saw another hearing in the Chengalpattu District Court. Main suspect Remco S. did show up this time, but again there was no verdict. José’s relatives have been waiting for justice for more than thirteen years.
In Omroep Brabant’s documentary TOXIC, documentary makers Nicole Theuns and Ricardo Paz Belvis look for answers for José’s family. How did José die in India, where did Remco S. go after his fatal act and why is he not being tried? The documentary makers manage to get their hands on part of the police file. It states that S. himself confessed to the murder of José.
In recent years there have been numerous hearings to try the perpetrator. Remco S., originally from Limburg, lives in the Indian town of Mahabalipuram and is summoned almost every month as the main suspect. Just like last Tuesday.
While he was absent from the dock at a previous hearing, Remco S. did appear this Tuesday. But a number of witnesses did not show up, causing the case to be postponed again. In mid-December, the court in India will make another attempt.
Albert van de Vliet (brother of José) and his mother Mien are afraid that Remco S. will disappear now that the case has been publicized. Remco S. has an identical twin brother. José’s family fears that he may leave the country on his brother’s passport.
What happened to José van de Vliet?
José van de Vliet from Waalre left for India with her boyfriend Remco S. in March 2012. She had a foundation with which she wanted to help the local population and she had bought her own house there. Since then they have traveled that way more often.
Her family and friends saw the confident José transform into a submissive, timid woman. Remco increasingly determined what she was allowed to do and never left her alone for a moment. He had her completely in his grasp.
Two weeks after leaving for India, the family received the shocking news that José had died in India. It later turned out that she had been murdered. S. was soon seen as the main suspect and was arrested. He was later released on bail. Since then there has been no trace of him. In the documentary TOXIC you take a look at the search for answers that the family has been looking for for thirteen years.
TOXIC can be seen on Omroep Brabant TV on Thursday evening from 5 p.m. The first episode is repeated every hour. The series can also be viewed on Brabant+
When asked whether the passports are flagged (so that alarm bells sound as soon as Remco S. leaves the country with the passport), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not respond. For this she refers to the Public Prosecution Service. The Public Prosecution Service, in turn, says that it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs because, formally speaking, there is no criminal investigation or criminal trial in the Netherlands.
Dutch politics has remained quiet for years, because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that it does not interfere with legal proceedings abroad. That is not the goal for Albert and his mother. They mainly want information about the current state of the case. But that is also not possible, partly because of Remco S’s right to privacy.
SP MP Michiel van Nispen from Breda previously asked parliamentary questions about the murder of José. He wanted to know why it is taking so long for the suspect to be tried. He called the answers to those parliamentary questions ‘disappointing’. He agrees that there can be no interference with the judicial process in India, but also believes that the ministry can ask for clarification as to why it is taking so long.
Now that the coming period in The Hague will mainly revolve around the formation of a new cabinet, little will change in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ interpretation for the time being. As far as justice for José is concerned, the surviving relatives are at the mercy of the unpredictable judicial process in India.
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