Ede hostage-taker Corné H. was finally admitted to a TBS clinic on Thursday, to his own relief. An important step forward for him. But the problems within the TBS persist. Corné’s lawyers Petra Breukink and Jan-Jesse Lieftink are therefore making an appeal.
In March 2024, Edenaar H. caused four young employees of a party café in Ede a trauma by holding them hostage for hours. The hostage situation turned out to be an act of desperation, a sad cry for help. The court imposed a TBS order on him for this. Corné H. has struggled with very serious psychological problems since childhood, but never actually received the right help.
Stuck in TBS? What’s that again?
The TBS clinics have no room. The TBS system is in danger of completely coming to a standstill. TBS patients who have completed their treatment do not return to society. The overcrowded clinics are therefore unable to accept new TBS patients.
If people committed their offense under the influence of a disorder, are dangerous and have committed a serious offense, the judge can impose a TBS order. The judge then finds that due to their illness the perpetrator cannot be held (or less) responsible for the crime committed.
Because they are too dangerous to be released, around 270 offenders with TBS are already in regular prisons waiting for placement and the start of their treatment. Waiting for a place now takes an average of 2 years.
H. expects to finally receive the right help in a TBS clinic. The fact that the prison has been serving as a waiting room for a year and a half now creates feelings of powerlessness and frustration. H. is considered dangerous and unpredictable. He can do something to others out of nowhere. After his arrest, the Eden resident stayed in various prisons and caused violent incidents. In Vught he took his guards hostage.
“Does it have to go completely wrong first?”
His lawyers Petra Breukink and Jan-Jesse Lieftink filed summary proceedings to have H. urgently taken to a TBS clinic. “Does it have to go completely wrong first?”
Since this morning, H. has actually been a patient in the Mesdagkliniek in Groningen. The TBS clinic has special departments where extremely dangerous TBS patients follow an almost individual treatment program. Mesdag also has a specific autism department. According to his lawyers, Corné could possibly move on to that department over time.
The court in The Hague is expected to make a ruling in early July. That is no longer necessary. However, H. still has to appear at the court in Den Bosch in July for the hostage action in Vught.
According to the lawyers, Corné is relieved that he can finally receive the right treatment. “He is very happy that he has now been placed in a TBS clinic, after so many months of waiting and uncertainty,” said Lieftink. “It still feels a bit unreal, especially because the criminal case in Vught still has to be filed,” said Breukink.
The battle for placement in a TBS clinic also made an impression on the lawyers themselves. “It did a lot to us. We fought against a government that should protect its own citizens. Instead, both Corné and the prison staff were exposed to serious risks. In our opinion, this was not necessary at all if Corné had been placed in a TBS clinic in time.”
Corné case exposes structural TBS problem
According to them, the case exposes a structural problem: the long waiting lists within the TBS system. They do not expect this problem to be solved in the short term. “That does not reassure us. On the contrary. We have seen in this case that there was hardly any good cooperation between the various parties.”
The Ministry of Justice and Security, the Public Prosecution Service, the prison, the TBS clinics and the legal profession all had their own interests. No one really took responsibility. References were constantly made to each other.
By this, Breukink and Lieftink refer to the organizations involved within the criminal justice and healthcare chain. “The ministry, the Public Prosecution Service, the prison, the TBS clinics and the legal profession all had their own interests. No one really took responsibility. People were constantly referring to each other.”
According to them, this is precisely where the key to improvement lies. “If we want to solve the stagnant TBS chain, cooperation between all chain partners is essential.” That is why Breukink and Lieftink appeal to all parties involved: make it a common interest to improve the inflow, flow and outflow.
According to them, only by taking joint responsibility can the Dutch TBS system function effectively again. This is the only way we can help our unique TBS system move forward again.