The public prosecutor sees one more way to stop 51-year-old Daniël L. from Pesse from his years of struggle against the municipality of Hoogeveen: tbs with compulsory nursing. The man has been detained since August 6 for threatening letters to a social service official in Hoogeveen. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), he also tried to force this official to transfer a benefit amount and committed a local breach of peace.
The man has been fighting against the municipality for nine years. He is entitled to benefits, but does not receive it, L. told the judge. De Pessenaar has been convicted four times before for the same offenses against government agencies and employees. “He is convinced that he is right and will not let this go. Nothing can stop him,” said the public prosecutor.
According to the prosecutor, a range of treatment plans have been drawn up to teach the man a different behavior. The psychiatrist and psychologist noted psychological disorders in L., including one that makes him suspicious and anxious. The experts disagreed on the extent to which the facts could be blamed on the man, and as a result, no treatment recommendation was made.
The last straw was a threatening letter to the official announcing his execution. “He will be dead soon. He deserved it. I hope to meet you at his funeral,” wrote L. and sent the letter to others. To his own surprise, the man was arrested shortly afterwards and has been incarcerated ever since. Shortly before, L. had submitted a complaint to the ombudsman and thought he could enter into talks with the municipality.
The judge wondered why the man still sent this letter. “I had been without benefits for eight or nine months. The need was high,” said the man. The man is entitled to benefits, the official later said to the police. But that has to be the way the gentleman wants and that is not the right way, said the public prosecutor.
According to the prosecutor, all conditions are met to be able to impose tbs with compulsory treatment. But capped: up to four years. In addition, L. should also be sentenced to 269 days in prison, equivalent to his pre-trial detention.
Lawyer Ronald Knegt, who assists L., finds the proposal of the Public Prosecution Service (OM) wrong advice. A TBS measure will only have the opposite effect for L.. The Pessenaar has always been misunderstood, unheard and humiliated. “Communication is going wrong,” Knegt said. If the court comes to a conviction, a prison sentence of at most six months will be appropriate, the lawyer said.
Verdict in two weeks.