Arnoud van Doorn, councillor from the Hague and leader of the Party of Unity, was arrested by the Royal and Diplomatic Security Service (DKDB) this Sunday. After spending the night in jail, he’s now been released.
The arrest came after Van Doorn walked through the same neighbourhood in which Rutte was present — while displaying “suspicious behaviour,” reports AD.
Planning assassination attempt?
The suspicious behaviour is believed by the DKDB to be caused by preparing an assassination attempt, possibly on PM Rutte.
Van Doorn was released Monday afternoon after a police interrogation but a spokesperson from the Public Prosecution Service in The Hague confirms that he has received 120 hours of community service.
The community service sentence is not directly related to the suspected assassination plot, but for three tweets from 2018 and 2019 in which Van Doorn incites violence against non-Muslims.
Laywer says arrest is an example of governing from fear
Van Doorn’s lawyer criticises the arrest saying that it shows the detention of civilians isn’t taken seriously enough in the Netherlands.
According to him, “There was no reasonable suspicion of guilt and for that reason, my client should not have been arrested. The fact that this is about Rutte does not make it any different. Even then, or rather precisely then, the law must be respected.”
Rutte tags on extra security
Monday, it was announced that Rutte would be given extra security after he’s become a target of organized crime. While the intel that gave rise to the new security measures was received at the beginning of this month, it’s believed that Van Doorn’s arrest is related to the extra security.
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