The high-profile conflict between the State and a Moroccan-Dutch national who was detained in Spain for almost two months on suspicion of terrorism will continue to fester for the time being. The man landed at Schiphol on Tuesday evening after his Spanish detention and was back in court a day later with the aim of having him removed from the wanted lists. That turned out differently: the judge was challenged and the case will now continue at a later time. “Kenan is mentally through it.”
What was that again? Kenan*, a 35-year-old Dutchman with a Moroccan background, went on holiday to Morocco with his wife at the end of July. During a stopover in Spain, he was taken from his hotel room bed by the police and taken to a police cell. It turned out that he had been arrested on suspicion of terrorism. He is said to be a danger to Spanish national security and has an entry ban into that country. He was held in custody for almost eight weeks, until he was suddenly released last Tuesday.
The Dutchman landed at Schiphol in the evening. It was an emotional reunion, said a spokesperson for Muslim Rights Watch (MRW), an Islamic non-profit organization that defends the Islamic community. “There was of course joy, but also a lot of sadness. Many tears fell. There is no joy, because it is not over yet. There are no guarantees that Kenan will soon be able to travel freely again, that he will be able to go to Morocco to say goodbye to people who died in the earthquake. For the time being, he no longer dares to travel, and we strongly advise him not to do so.”
Hard time
Kenan has had a very tough time, says MRW. “Being incarcerated for something you didn’t do is horrible. He’s completely through it. He is physically and mentally exhausted. Didn’t eat, had sleepless nights. You can see that he is also on his very last legs here,” says the spokesperson. Just down the hall, Kenan stands with his lawyer. He’s too shaken to respond.
Emotions in the court later run high when it turns out that not everyone can attend the hearing. Muslim Rights Watch had called for support in the court in The Hague, which was attended by around 150 people. According to the group, this was also duly passed on to the court, but for unclear reasons no video connection had been arranged with which the group could follow the hearing. There was also insufficient room for everyone in the room itself.
People in the hallway reacted angrily and sad. “Unbelievable, how scandalous,” he said. “This is so poorly organised. We indicated well in advance that many people would come, but no one listened to us.” A representative of the court reacts with surprise to the allegations. “This is already one of the larger halls and a request for a live stream only came in very late. You won’t be able to arrange that so quickly.”
The man’s lawyer discussed the space in the hearing room with the judge. She suggested setting up extra chairs, in which, according to her, the judge was already ‘inflexible’. According to the lawyer, the judge further reported that the detained man had now been released, meaning that there was no longer any urgent interest in the summary proceedings. As a result, the lawyer no longer has confidence in the proper handling of the case. “As far as we are concerned, there is an appearance of partiality,” MRW said.
Emotional reunion
The Kenan case is making a lot of waves in politics, especially after reporting from this site. Political party Denk reacted furiously to the turn of events and now wants a debate with Minister Dilan Yesilgöz, because it is said that it has not made sufficient efforts. GroenLinks-PvdA has now asked parliamentary questions and D66 and Party for the Animals also responded critically. The mayors of Tilburg and Arnhem were also concerned about the man’s fate for weeks and called on the Spanish authorities to release Kenan.
The case against the State is not just about Kenan, says MRW. “This concerns all of us. If this can happen to him, this can happen to anyone. We must make it clear to the State that this is a gross violation of human rights. It should not be the case that people like Kenan no longer dare to travel freely due to a mistake by the government. And it is up to the government to correct that mistake. Which authorities now have his data? Where do these false accusations come from today? What about that list with his name on it? All this must come to an end quickly.”
Signaling list
It still remains completely unclear on the basis of which specific fact the man was arrested. Earlier this year, Minister of Justice Dilan Yeşilgöz acknowledged that it cannot be ruled out that people may be wrongly included on an alert list. “The State says that he has not been put on a list by the Netherlands. It cannot be the case that an EU member state knows much more about a Dutch citizen than the Dutch person in question himself,” his lawyer said earlier.
In the summary proceedings, the State is asked, among other things, to ‘provide the correct information’. The State Attorney did not wish to comment at the hearing when asked.
*At the request of Muslim Rights Watch, Kenan is a fictitious name
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