Dutch Premier to Give Testimony in Espionage Trial
(MENAFN) Dutch Premier Dick Schoof is scheduled to testify as a witness in the legal proceedings involving a former counterterrorism officer suspected of disclosing confidential information to Morocco, a court in the Netherlands announced on Friday.
The investigation involves 65-year-old Ab el M., a former staff member at the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV), who was taken into custody in October 2023 at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
He was allegedly en route to Morocco with several electronic storage items, as reported by a news agency.
Schoof, who once headed the NCTV, will join the organization’s current director, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg, in providing statements before the investigating magistrate.
The Rotterdam District Court stated that the focus of their testimony will be on the suspect’s position within the NCTV and the extent of his clearance to restricted materials.
These sessions will occur privately, with no admittance for the general public or press.
Authorities claim that El M. aimed to transfer delicate state materials to Moroccan intelligence agencies.
He had remained in detention ahead of trial for close to 20 months but was provisionally freed earlier this week.
The court noted that this choice reflected a need to balance the prolonged investigation against his individual situation.
“The personal interest of the suspect in his release has now come to outweigh the interest in criminal proceedings,” the court stated, while reaffirming the gravity of the allegations.
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