Tom de Wal was arrested on Friday evening while performing faith healings on the street in Tilburg. He was released later that evening, but now he has to pay a fine. Why exactly was he arrested? And will the evening continue?
The controversial faith healer was actually supposed to hold healing services at the Van der Valk Hotel Eindhoven on Friday evening, but they were cancelled. De Wal therefore moved the meeting to the Praise Tilburg church.
Arrested during interview
But the municipality banned the services. “It was an event and no event permit had been granted,” explains a spokesperson for the municipality of Tilburg.
De Wal started the service in the church anyway, but the police soon entered. Everyone had to go outside. On the street, the faith healer then continued with the meeting. Just as he was giving an interview to Omroep Brabant, De Wal was arrested.
Tickets sold, so event
Was that just allowed? Yes, say the municipality, police and retired criminal lawyer Pieter van der Kruijs from Den Bosch a day later.
“He was in violation,” says Van der Kruijs. “He didn’t have a permit for his event. And even though the event was held later on the street, it was still an event. It doesn’t matter whether it was inside or outside the church.”
A group of people on the street: is that immediately an event? In this case yes, says the lawyer. “First of all, it was a premeditated intention. He continued what he was doing in church. And tickets were sold.” The municipality also cites ticket sales as a reason to see it as an event.
Received a ticket
De Wal was arrested at a quarter past seven, a police spokesperson said. “He was released again at a quarter to ten. He received a fine for violating the general police regulation.”
The spokesperson cannot say how high the fine is: the public prosecutor has yet to determine the exact amount. According to the police, the whole case was settled with the fine.
No sequel?
Van der Kruijs also thinks that there will be no follow-up. “The Public Prosecution Service is not going to take this case to court,” he thinks. “Given the crowds, they are not going to spend time on that.”
That seems to settle the matter. Yet the lawyer still wonders one thing: what exactly is the situation with freedom of religion? “Can you subject a religious experience to an event permit? That sounds technical, but I’m curious about how exactly that works.”
Partly because of this issue, Forum for Democracy (FVD) will ask parliamentary questions about the events in Tilburg, MP Gideon van Meijeren announces on X.
Journalists from Omroep Brabant previously attended services of Tom de Wal’s religious organization, you can hear their experiences in the podcast Op hoop van blessing here: