If Frenkie P. keeps a diary behind bars at all, he will definitely have marked it on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. On that day, he will try to force a real prospect of having his sentence re-evaluated via summary judgment after more than 26 years in prison.
Whether it still makes sense for P. and his lawyers Sjanneke de Crom and Cliff Raafs to travel to the court in The Hague now that the 47-year-old Venlo man made a mistake in the penitentiary in Sittard last week remains to be seen. After all, Frenkie P., the leader of the Venlo gang sentenced to life in prison, has also recently been listed as a "coronahoester. He allegedly coughed at an outside electrician and a guard in the Sittard prison air yard on Thursday. He then allegedly scolded security guards who called him on his behavior. This earned him fourteen days of solitary confinement and a (temporary?) transfer to the prison in Alphen aan den Rijn. The ultimate consequences may be even more drastic for P.. He may have thrown away his chances of early release just "in a jiffy. Since the outbreak of the corona pandemic, spitting and coughing - (threatening) violence or insult - toward others has been highly regarded.
Minister
Therefore, the coughs that Frenkie P. himself said were meant as a joke will not speak in his favor when eventually the minister must decide whether he can be slowly but surely prepared for a return to society. Just last year, the Advisory Committee on Life Imprisonment ruled that Frenkie P. "has not given confidence that things will go well, given his personality and the risk of recidivism. Then a year later, you'd better be careful of even coughs meant as a joke during the corona crisis.
Supported by his lawyers, Frenkie P. is seeking new ways through summary proceedings to avoid having to stay in prison until his death. There would be snags in the system of reassessment. The lawsuit was scheduled for April 1; it was moved to Tuesday, August 18, due to the corona crisis.
P's lawyers Sjanneke de Crom and Cliff Raafs see no reason to call off the lawsuit. "We want to denounce the system. This incident does not change that." De Crom emphasizes again that Frenkie P. is very adamant that the "coughs were meant as a joke. "According to my client, events were very blown up. The incident subsequently took on a life of its own."
