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 Kees van der Plas *

Binnenkort verschijnt Verknipt bewijs, een boek van wetenschapsfilosoof Ton Derksen over de zaak Baybasin. Volgens de uitgever zijn de conclusies schokkend: “de rechters  zijn voorgelogen” in een zaak die “één van de  grofste gerechtelijke dwalingen tot nu toe” is. Lees meer

The prosecution believes that the declarations of the two Turkish men who accused mr. J. Demmink, chief of the Justice Department, of rape and sexual abuse are incomplete. According to the coordinating prosecutor of the national department mr. J.van Zijl the evidence  ‘official criminal suspicion’ against his chief civil servant Demmink comes up short.

The Public Ministry has recently told mrs. A.G. van der Plas, a lawyer of the two Turkish men, that their hands are tied. In a personal interview at the National Office, the officer let her be known that as long as there is no criminal investigation, he lacks the authority to pursue taking testimony of four major Turkish witnesses through a request for legal assistance in Turkey. He is also powerless to examine the archives of the Ministry of Justice to check on the travels of Secretary-General Demmink that he made t0 Turkey in the nineties. Demmink says that since 1987 he has not been in Turkey. This is contrary to the testimony made by a series of people who said that Demmink was regularly in Turkey and that they met with him there. “What is the problem to examine the archives of the travel agency of the Ministry and to confirm conclusively the travel arrangements of mr. Demmink?” mrs.Van der Plas asks herself, “A great deal of misunderstandings can be resolved.” However, the Public Prosecutor of the Prosecutors’ Office says that he doesn’t have the authority to open the files. That authority arises only when an “official criminal suspicion” has started.  And that suspicion against his chief is not there, because the prosecution refuses to accept declarations of the two Turkish men and finds the other testimony insufficient. Lawyer Van der Plas is shocked about the motive of the prosecution to leave Demmink alone. She says: “In this country, an anonymous tip can lead to the use of coercive measures such as search and arrest. But an abundance of testimony and documents is unable to justify a criminal investigation against the chief of justice.”

 

Mustafa

Two men have made declarations against mr. Demmink that he ‘raped’ and ‘sexually abused’ them at a young age.  In September 2008, Mustafa Y. submitted a written declaration to the district attorney. Earlier, he gave his story to the Turkish investigative journalist Burhan Kazmali, which includes a long article that was published on the internet (yalovacizgi.com) in the mid-nineties. Mustafa  was shanghaied by the Turkish police officer Mehmet Korkmaz for an older foreign man to provide a sexual service. That happened in the Akgün Hotel in Istanbul. The police officer, Korkmaz, confirmed the story of Mustafa  to  the journalist Kazmali on video. Korkmaz has expressed his willingness to answer all questions that Dutch justice officials want to pose in Turkey. The chief of Korkmaz, N.Menzir, in the nineties police chief in Istanbul, remembers the name Demmink and was willing to testify. Menzir says that “Demmink at the time was in Turkey to prepare the case Huseyin Baybasin and his police team had to provide protection. He had extensive knowledge about the case and was willing to share this with the national office.” Kazmali confirmed the interviews conducted under oath to the prosecutor of Fatih in Turkey. His full statement with its translation was made on 12 December 2007. Until now, the national office did nothing with all these testimonies and declarations of help and cooperation in the investigation of their chief Demmink. The declaration of Mustafa was handed over by lawyer Van der Plas to the Dutch authorities, but was not accepted. Mustafa had to personally come to the Netherlands and give testimony to the vice squad, which is what they repeated for years. Until that happened, Mustafa’s declaration was considered as not submitted. In the meantime, in Turkey, Mustafa was repeatedly threatened to withdraw his complaint and testimony of  Demmink. When Mustafa refused, he was seriously abused. On 13 December 2009, Mustafa was interviewed in Istanbul by Klaas Langendoen, the former chief of the Criminal Investigation Kennemerland (district of the Netherlands). This interview was recorded on video. Mustafa points to Demmink in this interview as the man who sexually abused him previously. Based on this hearing of 25 May 2010 on behalf of Mustafa a new complaint was made against Demmink and was submitted to the national office, this time also because of a threat (of a witness) and abuse or the provocation thereof.

 

Osman

On December 12, 2009 Klaas Langendoen interviewed, in Istanbul, a second victim of Demmink, the then 14-year-old Osman B. Osman told Langendoen how the policeman Korkmaz initially brought him in contact with Demmink, “a generous man with whom you could smoke and that would treat you to drinks”. During a trip to Edirne, Osman was forced to sleep in the hotel room with Demmink. When he wanted to escape from the room, the driver of Demmink, who kept watch in the hall, forced him to stay in the bedroom. Osman was then penetrated by Demmink. The interrogation of Osman was videotaped. Osman, through his Dutch lawyer filed this complaint against Demmink on May 25, 2010. This declaration of Osman was repeated on February 10, 2011 to the vice squad in the Netherlands. On the same date, the Turkish journalist Kazmali, who as trusted party of Osman traveled with Osman, was interviewed by the national department about his talks with Mustafa, Osman and the policeman. Kazmali told the police of his recent encounter with a third Turkish boy, Yacine, who was sexually abused by Demmink, in Bodrum. The detectives who interrogated Kazmali said to Kazmali that they found the statement made by Osman “shockingly reliable”. The complaint of Osman has not led to a criminal investigation. Mustafa Y. was asked by the prosecutor to come to the Netherlands and give testimony supporting his complaint. Mustafa’s experiences in Turkey have frightened him for the long arm (power) of Demmink. The fact that there is still no effective action being taken against Demmink on Osman’s declaration confirms their worst fears. But through his lawyer Mustafa has indicated his willingness to be interviewed in Turkey and answer all questions of the Dutch investigators about his complaint. The third boy, Yacine, is willing to be interviewed in Turkey by Dutch detectives about how he was sexually abused by Demmink. This will not happen according to the National Office. Prosecutor mr.J.van Zijl claims that his hands are tied to pursue the matter.

Twee mannen uit Turkije hebben bij het landelijke parket van het Openbaar Ministerie aangifte gedaan tegen secretaris-generaal mr. J. Demmink van het ministerie van justitie wegens verkrachting en seksueel misbruik van kinderen beneden de zestien jaar. De twee mannen zijn zelf het slachtoffer van Demmink. Toen zij twaalf en veertien jaar oud waren zijn zij door de Turkse politie geronseld, naar een hotelkamer gebracht en door Demmink verkracht. Eén van de twee mannen is inmiddels door de zedenpolitie in Nederland gehoord. Lees meer

Namens Baybasin is op 18 april 2011 een herzieningsverzoek ingediend bij de Hoge Raad. Het verzoek schetst een onthutsend beeld van de achtergronden van de strafzaak tegen Baybasin en de wijze waarop deze vanuit Turkije in samenspraak met de Nederlandse justitiële autoriteiten in elkaar is gezet.

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Op 9 februari 2011 stelde Jeroen Recourt van de PvdA enkele indringende vragen aan de Minister van Justitie en Veiligheid over het door de TCEAS verrichte onderzoek naar de telefoontaps in de zaak Baybasin. De vragen werden op 21 februari 2011 beantwoord.