The Dutch justice department refuses to consider moving a Belgian criminal back to Middelburg prison. The request to move him was made on Tuesday on referral, as his family could visit him more easily there. The justice minister has refused to respond to the request, as the prisoner had already caused problems during a previous stay in Middelburg. He is currently in a cell in the North of the Netherlands, in Groningue, said the “Provincale Zeeuwse Courant” site on Wednesday. The prisoner, Michel B, from Assende (Eastern Flanders) was sentenced to 16 years in 2007 for shooting dead his mother-in-law with a hunting rifle and the attempted murders of his wife and nephew. He has since been held in several penitentiary establishments, among them Middelburg prison. “He has shown himself to be insolent and tried to intimidate staff”, said a lawyer for the justice department on Tuesday.
The department’s spokesperson also said that during his stay at Middelburg, his family rarely visited him and he could use the internet to stay in touch with them.
Michel B’s lawyer thinks that the department is in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights.
He has already tried to help his client get permission to serve his sentence in Belgium several times, but the Dutch justice department has always refused.
(Source: Belga)
