See more DutchNews articles in your Google search results
See more DutchNews articles in your Google search results
Add as a favourite source on Google Add DutchNews as a favourite source on GoogleThe man who set off a firework bomb at the D66 headquarters in The Hague in May has admitted the attack, telling a court it was a protest against Dutch asylum policy and what he called the dismantling of the country.
The 37-year-old, identified as Berry van D., appeared at a preliminary hearing at The Hague district court on Thursday. He is accused of causing an explosion with terrorist intent.
About 30 people, most of them members of the party’s youth wing, were inside the building when the firework bomb went off shortly after 9pm. No one was hurt.
Van D. said he had not known anyone was there because he had seen no lights on and that he never intended to hurt anyone.
Prosecutors said he acted alone and told the court he had a political message and wanted to silence people who think differently, ANP reported.
Van D. was arrested about an hour after the blast in the Grote Marktstraat, the city’s main shopping street, carrying two knives. NOS reported that he has a previous conviction for setting fire to city buses in Tilburg, where he had worked as a driver.
He told the court he had turned to violence because voting and peaceful demonstration had achieved nothing.
Psychiatric assessment
Thursday’s hearing was procedural and no trial date has been set yet. Van D. will be transferred to a forensic psychiatric clinic to assess whether he can be held responsible for his actions.
NOS reported that Van D. presents himself on social media as a supporter of the anti-immigration PVV, and described D66 leader Rob Jetten being sworn in as prime minister in February as a black day for the country.
The office on the Lange Houtstraat was also attacked in September last year, when rioters from an anti-immigration demonstration smashed its windows.
Thank you for donating to DutchNews.nl.
We could not provide the Dutch News service, and keep it free of charge, without the generous support of our readers. Your donations allow us to report on issues you tell us matter, and provide you with a summary of the most important Dutch news each day.
Make a donation