SITTARD/MADRID - Hub L. wants to avoid a life sentence in the Netherlands at all costs. The 58-year-old Sittarden man is suspected of involvement in the murder of Mouhammed Al Jader and is detained in Spain. The public prosecutor's office (OM) wants to bring him to the Netherlands quickly.

But murder suspect L. is resisting his extradition. His counsel Serge Weening: "That is on a legal ground. In theory, my client can be sentenced to life imprisonment. In the Netherlands, that means that you stay in prison until your death anyway. We are hopeful that the Spanish judge will find the Dutch system sick in that respect, and turn a blind eye. Indeed, in other countries, if you are sentenced to life after, say, 15 years, there is an interim review. That is an interim review of whether you should indeed remain in prison for life. We want such a life sentence in the Netherlands to be excluded in advance for my client."

In addition to the legal objections, Hub L. also has personal grounds for not wanting to be extradited to the Netherlands. "He has no confidence in the judiciary in the Netherlands," said his lawyer. The public prosecutor could not comment yesterday on the statements of attorney Weening. About the cases he is suspected of, L. says nothing at all. The Sittarden man, living in the German border town of Tudderen, was arrested in Spain a month ago. He had been on the run from justice for six months. His two sons Michel(26) and Maurice (21) and his wife Els (58) are detained in the Netherlands and are also suspected of murder. His daughter Rachelle (19) is still a fugitive. Mouhammed Al Jader was murdered, according to prosecutors, and then his body was dissolved in hydrochloric acid.

The proceedings now being followed in Spain could certainly take several more months, according to attorney Weening. "It depends on how quickly the Spanish judiciary works through. But he has to appear in court again at the end of August." The conditions in which Hub L. is being held in Spain are not so good compared to the Netherlands. He is locked up in the Centro Penintentiario V de Madrid in Soto del Real. That is about 30 kilometers north of the Spanish capital Madrid. "His cell is a lot more austere. The food he is served is not good."

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