Vught has now become a bit safer. On Tuesday afternoon, a new road opened on which serious criminals from the Vught PI will be transported for the next ten years. About three hundred times a year, a convoy of five cars races from Vught to, for example, the extra-secure Amsterdam court. That transport often goes through the village at a speed of 100 kilometers per hour. Thanks to the new route, the convoy can now also pass through the quiet and well-organized nature reserve De Gement. To the complete satisfaction of the residents of Vught.
The heavily armored cars carry highly secured prisoners, such as Holleeder or Ridouan Taghi. Criminals who will do anything to escape. It is logical that the residents of Vught are not looking forward to that traffic.
“All praise for the mayor,” says a resident of Vught. “That new road is such a good idea. Until now they came through the street in an emergency manner. I have even taught my children that if something happens, for example if someone wants to free Taghi or someone else, they should duck away. When they come by I am alert. My husband wanted to catch up with the motorcade years ago. At that moment a dark car drove next to him at full speed, all the way to our driveway. They are that tense at the PI.”
A sneer at Grapperhaus
The mayor of Vught, Roderick van de Mortel, is also very happy with the new road. He has been trying for years to protect his municipality against the dangers posed by the Extra Secure Facility (EBI). Together with Franc Weerwind, Minister for Legal Protection, he officially opened the new road.
Van de Mortel could not resist taking a swipe at Weerwind’s predecessor, Ferd Grapperhaus, in his speech. Vught had to wait a very long time for measures to make it safer. “We briefly considered inviting this minister’s predecessor today, but we were afraid that he would not know where to find Vught,” said a mocking mayor.
Three million
It is the first time that the central government has invested so much money in a road to a prison. The construction cost three million euros, but it makes the village of Vught a lot safer.
The cars with criminals that drive from the PI in Vught to courts throughout the country tore through the municipality in columns until Tuesday. When a stop had to be made at a railway crossing, six guards immediately got out with machine guns. This will not be a thing of the past with the arrival of the new road, it will just happen much less often. The new route ensures that there is always an alternative route in the event of imminent danger.
In addition to the new road, more measures have been taken to make it safer in Vught. For example, prisoners can now be heard by the court via a video connection. Then they don’t even have to leave the PI anymore. And early next year, a hearing room within the prison walls will be ready so that court cases can also be handled within the PI.
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Vught wanted to get rid of the serious criminals who were transported through the village