The hunt for fugitive convicts is in the hands of a special police unit, the Fugitive Active Search Team Netherlands (FASTNL) of the National Unit and the National Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Public Prosecution Service. Eight ‘candidates’ have been selected for a campaign at the airports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Eindhoven. It is suspected that a number of fugitives are traveling under a different name or with false documents, for example to visit relatives. “It could be that they move these months,” says public prosecutor Yolande Oosterhof. “That is why we ask for extra attention at airports for these people.”
avoid punishment
It is suspected that these persons are hiding abroad and thus trying to avoid punishment. Travelers are asked abroad to look out for the fled criminals and to tip the police.
In all cases, these are criminals who have been sentenced in the Netherlands to prison terms ranging from four years for armed robbery to life for murder.
“For victims and relatives it is indigestible that these criminals are hiding in another country. They want justice to be done,” says Oosterhof.
‘Indigestible’
Robert Jansen, secretary of the National Public Prosecutor’s Office, lists a number of examples. Sharif Korz is also on the national wanted list, has to serve another ten years for murder but simply serves coffee to tourists on a terrace in an Egyptian seaside resort. ‘Indigestible,’ says Jansen. “And incredibly frustrating.”
Giovannie Rivera is another example. He was involved in a robbery and hostage situation in the 1990s, in which victims suffered trauma. They suffer from it to this day. Or Shahin Gheiybe, who occasionally posts provocative videos from Iran but still has thirteen years in prison in the Netherlands for a double attempted murder. FASTNL suspects that he regularly resides in neighboring countries of the Netherlands.
According to the police and the Public Prosecution Service, the special team of eighty fugitives knows quite accurately where they are staying. One of them is a child killer in India.
Limitation Period
“It often concerns countries with which we do not have a treaty or where a different limitation period applies. India does not respond to anything at all,” sighs Yolande Oosterhof. She also points to an omission in the Dutch legal system. “Judges sometimes suspend suspects from pre-trial detention who have dual nationality. They hand in their Dutch passport but flee with the passport of their mother country. Judges should pay more attention to this,” said the public prosecutor.
“These criminals on the run need to realize that our search never ends and that we will not rest until they are behind bars,” said Police Commissioner Andy Kraag. “We are doing everything necessary so they better report. Nobody is impossible to find,” says Kraag, who with his teams tracked down several leaders of the Mocro mafia abroad over the past two years, including Ridouan Taghi and Saïd Razzouki.
“Justice has been spoken and justice must be done,” says Andy Kraag. “For victims, relatives, but also as a reparation for society.”