Gay bar Venise in Breda is closed for four weeks. According to the municipality, the business has been temporarily closed due to ‘risks for public order and safety’.
Edwin van der M. (53) has been under fire for years. The municipality is trying hard to close his bar after many reports of sexual misconduct, drunkenness and violations of the closing hours law. It is not yet clear whether the case will remain permanently closed.
This isn’t the first time the bar has closed. Earlier this year, the cafe closed for a month. Mayor Paul Depla had then revoked the catering permit due to ‘poor behavior of the permit holder’. The judge did not agree and ruled in September that the café could remain open for the time being. It has now been decided that the café will have to remain closed for the coming weeks.
Edwin van der M., the owner of the bar, also has to spend two years in prison for raping a young man. The court in Breda ruled this on Wednesday. In addition, he is no longer allowed to work in the catering industry for the next four years.
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Van der M. was acquitted of raping and abusing another man for years. He could not defend himself in court because he took his own life in 2020. The court could not properly assess whether Edwin forced the young man to have sex or whether he mainly needed money for his drug addiction. Because the court can no longer ask him to do this, the charges cannot be convincingly proven, the court said.