The gymnastics association KNGU wants to join appeal against the acquittal of gymnastics coach Vincent Wevers accused of transgressive behaviour. The union has started preparations for this and the case only has to be declared admissible. (Former) gymnasts accuse Wevers of, among other things, abuse of power, physical abuse and ignoring injuries. The prosecutor of the Institute for Sports Law (ISR) will also appeal the ruling, according to ANP.
The ISR previously demanded a suspension of 28 months against Wevers, 24 of which were conditional. He denies all allegations. Last Monday, the trainer was acquitted by a disciplinary committee, partly because of the quality of the investigation.
Also read: Weavers free after flawed investigation
With the appeal, the association wants to send a “clear signal that we support the athletes”, a KNGU spokesperson said to the newspaper. NRC† “Research shows how difficult it is for this group to actually report what happened to them. An acquittal based in particular on formal grounds will have hit those involved like a bomb.”
parliamentary questions
The investigation committee of the ISR, which conducted the investigation into Wevers, was unable to establish sufficiently that the coach was guilty of the accusations. According to the disciplinary committee, the investigation was “qualitatively unsatisfactory”. The interview reports of the women who filed a complaint against their old gymnastics trainer were so incomplete that the disciplinary committee did not include them in the verdict.
On Wednesday, MPs Lisa Westerveld (GroenLinks) and Attje Kuiken (PvdA) asked parliamentary questions in response to the case. They speak of a “careless procedure not in the interest of both the prosecutor and the defendant”.