“My house is my private domain and nobody has to bother me there,” Jos Hessels writes in a long statement on Facebook. The mayor of Echt-Susteren has been harassed twice in front of and in his home in recent weeks. “I feel intimidated.”
Hessels tells L1 that he knows who the people are who appeared at his door in the past two weeks.
Privacy
The mayor of Echt-Susteren wants to show where his limit lies by means of the statement on his Facebook page. Hessels says emphatically that he has no problem with people approaching him on the street, but does want people to respect the privacy of him and his family by not coming to visit him at home, something that has happened in recent weeks.
Living room
A few weeks ago, Hessels received a visit from the first person. “He kept ringing the bell, after which I opened the person in question out of decency. When this person came inside, the swearing started in my living room.” On Friday evening, a number of people again stood in front of Hessels’ home. “There were a few people who kept calling and cursing. In the end I decided to warn the police, when they arrived they had just left.” Hessels says the name-calling is also unpleasant and intimidating for his neighbors.
Procedures
Hessels says he knows why the people have come to his door. “It concerns matters that play or have played at the municipality.” The mayor says that all procedures have been completed in the cases and people cannot live with the outcome. In one case, another meeting is planned. “They think it’s normal that they go to the mayor if they don’t get their way. But I’m mayor, I’m completely outside those kinds of things, because I don’t make policy.” Hessels does not want to say what the proceedings were about.
Emotion
The mayor thinks people are coming to his house to express emotions, but hopes it will stop soon. In his Facebook post, Hessels writes that he experiences the threats as intimidating: “The indecency and lack of respect for our private domain of recent times is more impressive than a death threat from someone who has already committed murder”, Hessels refers to a threat from some years ago.
Stop call
The police will visit the people involved in the very short term for a so-called stop call. Officers then enter into a conversation with those involved, asking them to stop their actions. Hessels hopes it will help. “I don’t want to let it come to legal proceedings, but if this goes through I don’t hesitate to file a report. But I have faith in the stop conversation. Most people come to their senses through such a conversation.”
Comments
Hessels has received a lot of support after publishing his Facebook message. “Many phone calls and dozens of apps have come in over the past few hours. The purpose of my message is also that we keep a little bit of decency in our society and people respect their privacy.”