Frenkie P. (47) wants the prospect of a life outside prison. The leader of the Venlo Gang, who received a life sentence for seven murders, tried Tuesday to pry some perspective loose during summary proceedings in The Hague.
In October 2019, he received a negative opinion from the Advisory Board on Life Imprisonment. He disagrees with that.
Seven murders
The Venlo Gang gained a notorious reputation in the 1990s for committing hundreds of crimes. This gang was also linked to several murders. Ultimately, leader Frenkie was convicted of seven murders; those of Ibrahim Karaca, Jeu Wissink, couple Van Rijn in Venlo's Klagenfurtlaan and three unknown victims.
Squeaky Frenkie
It earned the then very young Frenkie a life sentence. Life imprisonment in the Netherlands also basically means life in prison. However, after 25 years in prison, the Advisory Committee on Life Imprisonment must assess whether someone can be prepared for a return to society. If the answer is positive, the Minister of Legal Protection can grant a pardon.
No pardon
The advisory body looks at three points: the prisoner's development since being "inside," the impact on society and any relatives of any release and any risk of recidivism.
Frenkie did not pass the test and thus there can be no pardon for the next few years. The protagonist and his lawyers Sjanneke de Crom and Cliff Raafs did not resign themselves to that.
Not welcome
They appeared in The Hague court Tuesday morning to challenge the entire opinion. "This advice was not carefully crafted," De Crom said. For example, Frenkie and his lawyers were not welcome at hearings, where experts and relatives were heard about his possible release. "We don't even know which experts were heard," he said.
Backroom politics
De Crom spoke of a lack of transparency. "When I told this to my client, he said, 'This is backroom politics.' We understand that we are not allowed to attend hearings of victims and relatives, but we are not even given access to interview reports. He is denied the opportunity to challenge any inaccuracies or share his own views."
42 minutes
Frenkie was examined by observation clinic Pieter Baan Center for 10 weeks prior to the recommendation. The expert report weighed heavily in the decision to leave the door to freedom closed for the time being. Wrongly, Frenkie believes. "I spoke with the psychiatrist for exactly 42 minutes in seven weeks. I immediately indicated that the man didn't like me. Nothing happened. At some point I said: now I'm done with it."
Basement full
On Tuesday, he also took a look back at the Gang of Venlo case, for which he was finally convicted in 1996. "One big puppet show," he said. Frenkie went on to explain why he did not want to participate in talks with the Parole Board about a future outside the prison walls. "It's always if, if, if. 'If' doesn't help me at all. I have the basement full of that."
No good picture
According to Cécile Bitter, attorney for the State, there were more factors that negatively affected the Pieter Baan Center report. "He himself terminated the observation study early and he did not give his consent for reference studies. The probation department also did not get a good picture of his functioning and his recidivism risk because of his refusal."
Cough incident
The fact that Frenkie was recently involved in a prison incident does not work in his favor as far as the State is concerned. The man in his forties coughed in the face of an energy company employee who was in Sittard prison for work. He then allegedly let himself go against employees of the prison. The coughing was particularly sensitive because of corona.
Attorney Bitter, by the way, let it be known that the door is not permanently closed. "The Advisory Board is going to advise again in a year, so there is still perspective for Mr. P." In two weeks, the judge will rule in the summary proceedings.
Watch the interview with attorney Sjanneke de Crom below: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://www.1limburg.nl/frenkie-p-klaar-met-levenslang-grote-poppenkastshow
