The ban on broadcasting the last episode of the NPO documentary An American nightmare is a major setback for broadcaster BNNVARA, the internationally operating Dutch producer Submarine and director Hans Pool. The Supreme Court of Amsterdam issued a judgment on Monday after the preliminary relief judge had ruled that the broadcast of the documentary was lawful last month. Jaitsen Singh, the Surinamese-Dutch convict who is the subject of the documentary, challenged the broadcast and was successful on appeal.
Also read this reconstruction about the making of the documentary: The docuseries about his conviction – 56 years in an American prison – turned out very differently than expected
Singh’s wife and stepdaughter were killed in 1983 by unknown killers. In 1984 he was sentenced to 56 years in prison in a dubious trial for ordering a murder for hire. Singh is still imprisoned in California and is considered the longest-serving Dutchman in a foreign cell. The offending final episode would be shown on NPO2 next Monday. It contains serious allegations of sexual abuse by a niece of Singh’s stepdaughter and the family of his murdered wife. There is also a report of abuse and a motive for the murder is outlined in the alleged abuse. This was never addressed in the criminal proceedings.
Insufficient hearing
According to the court, the allegations are “insistent” and “presented as true and proven”. Insufficient opportunity for rebuttal is provided. Singh’s lawyer Rachel Imamkhan , who has gradually broken with the documentary makers, suggested that it could be fatal if this episode is shown on TV, especially in the US. Prisoners associated with sexual offenses are at risk of violence.
The documentary series had already been shown for a month on NPO Start, the video service of the public broadcaster. Since Monday evening, episode five is no longer available there either. Femke Wolting of production company Submarine says she is “surprised” by the verdict. “As journalists, we have a duty to highlight the story from all sides,” she writes in an app message. “The court believes that we should give Mr Singh’s American lawyer more space in the series. We are now going to see if we can give even more attention to Singh’s view on the possible sexual abuse so that the last episode can still be broadcast.”
Penalty payment
The court also put an end to marketing abroad. The penalty for each violation is 50,000 euros, up to a maximum of a quarter of a million. The documentary, which took seven years to make, cost more than 1 million euros. More than 700,000 euros were subsidies from the film fund and NPO fund. There was also an advance from distributor About Premium Content, who is responsible for international sales. The documentary was already in the shop window, for example at the documentary fair MIPDoc in Cannes.
It is remarkable that the court takes the two sides so seriously, because this journalistic principle is usually not seen as law. According to specialized lawyer Olaf Trojan (Bird&Bird), not involved, it is “not up to the court how to interpret the principle of adversity”. However, a court can assess whether ‘a reasonable opportunity’ has been given. “The court will also consider whether it has been made sufficiently clear what that rebuttal should refer to.”