“This is inexplicable,” says Struijs. “Hundreds of police officers are working to curb cocaine smuggling. Masmeijer was up to his ears in it and does not have to serve a large part of his sentence. What the hell is going on?”
The NPB foreman points out that one of the purposes of a prison sentence is retaliation. “Masmeijer was severely punished by Belgian judges because it was abundantly clear that he had an important role in importing cocaine. What will the Belgians think of this? This man was not caught for shoplifting but for the most serious offences. ‘What are we all doing it for?’ were responses I got.”
parliamentary questions
VVD MP Ulysse Ellian is also outraged and announces that he will ask questions to Minister Weerwind (Legal Protection). In addition to King Willem Alexander, the minister is one of the signatories of the decision to pardon Masmeijer. The fallen TV presenter was sentenced to nine years by Belgium, but was allowed to serve part of his sentence in the Netherlands.
A spokesperson for Weerwind was unable to respond this morning. “We never make a statement about individual cases,” was the first response from the Weerwind Ministry. After that, the spokesperson promised to come up with a substantive response later in the day.