“If I meet you outside, I will kill you,” Uzma snapped at the perpetrator. She is the sister of Dani, who was murdered in 2022. The threat followed one last year first direct confrontation in the courtroom, when the already convicted Hassan Al D. wanted to apologize. “There was a lot of anger, especially when he apologized. I said it out of emotion, but I really have no plans,” she said afterwards.
But the Public Prosecution Service did take the statements seriously and started an investigation against the sister. That’s how she became In addition to being a victim, he is also a suspect and she had to be reported to both the police and the Public Prosecution Service as a suspect of threats. The public prosecutor has conditionally dismissed the case, with a probation period of 1 year.
‘Having an eye for the circumstances’
Liselotte van Gaalen is the lawyer for the sister of the murdered Dani. “I certainly do not condone the threat, but you have to take into account the circumstances of my client as a survivor. It is very difficult for such a person to sit in the same room with a suspect or someone who has already been convicted.”
Uzma herself struggles with the fact that she has been in the same courtroom with the perpetrator several times. “It is very strange to sit a few meters from the person who ensured that my brother is no longer there.”
‘A few incidents in 26 years’
Two weeks ago something went wrong at the entrance to the court in The Haguewhen supporters of a rapper came to blows with a victim.
Yet these are isolated incidents, says victim advocate Richard Korver. “I have been doing this work for 26 years now, but I have only experienced something happening a few times. And if something does happen, it is often verbal reproaches. Think of swearing.”
From a judicial perspective, it is good that both parties are present, so that the judge can hear the stories from both sides and the parties can respond to each other, Korver believes. In addition to being a victim advocate, he is also chairman of the National Lawyers Network for Victims of Violence and Sex (LANGZS).
Participate via video connection
And, he knows, there are indeed options to separate victim and suspect during a trial. For example, by allowing the victim or suspect to participate via a video connection.
Korver: “That sometimes happens when the victim or suspect really cannot cope emotionally. But I cannot ensure that the victim does not enter the room, because he or she has the right to be at that hearing. In any case, the judge often wants to see the suspect in front of him.” A video connection can also be used for security reasons.
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