The Dutch Petroleum Company (NAM) with headquarters in Assen is not prosecuted for deliberately damaging buildings, resulting in ‘danger of life’. The Court of Appeal in Leeuwarden determined that on Thursday.
The inhabitants stated that their homes had become life -threatening due to mining damage. According to the Court, the circumstances indeed indicate that it has been thrilled. But they are insufficient for a promising prosecution, according to the Court.
This keeps the decision of the public prosecutor Northern Netherlands not to prosecute.
The procedure has actually been running for ten years. Already in 2015, the GBB, together with a number of Groningen residents, reported the NAM for the danger to be found. This was initially rejected, but after an Article 12 procedure, the Court ordered a criminal investigation into possible life -threatening situations in 2017 as a result of quotation damage caused by gas extraction.
Last July was the last session in the criminal case.
The GBB says it is deeply disappointed. “There has indeed been danger to life,” she says in a response. ‘That is evident from the large -scale reinforcement operation that has been decorated by the government and costs billions. In our opinion, the OM systematically took over the arguments of the NAM without critical testing, and there was a training. “
GBB lawyer Emile van Reydt: ‘The decision is a hard stroke for all the injured parties in the winning area. The Court of Appeal sets the legal bar before the finding that there has been a life danger to being too high. ” According to Van Reydt, the Court of Appeal does not do justice to the real risks to which the victims are exposed.
With its council members, the GBB will study the ruling and see if the injured parties may be able to go to the European Court of Human Rights. “That sets high demands when it comes to the protection of citizens against (threatening) danger.”
“We are happy with the outcome of this long -term procedure,” De Nam said in a response, “and that we can close this file with this outcome.”