The public can follow the substantive hearing of the case against triple murder suspect Thijs H. (28) from Brunssum, which begins Monday, on screens in the Het Ruweel community center located near the Maastricht courthouse.
So reports the Limburg District Court. People do not have to register, but because of the corona measures, the number of places is limited. In accordance with the RIVM measures, there is a maximum place for thirty people.
External
As far as the Limburg District Court is aware, this is the first time that an external location outside a court has been used to allow the public to follow the substantive hearing of a criminal case. The hearing of the case against Jos Brech, who is suspected of abducting, abusing and killing Nicky Verstappen in 1998, was previously postponed until September because the court feels that the press and public should be able to attend such an important trial, which is currently not possible with the restrictive coronary measures.
Risky
A live stream in the Thijs H. case, which the prosecution had suggested as a possibility, the court considers too risky because of the sensitive information involved and the and privacy. By renting an external room, the court retains control and can monitor applicable prohibitions on making video and audio recordings in a courtroom, says a court spokeswoman. Opening a separate courtroom in the courthouse to the public was not an option because there would be too many people in the court and in the main hall the one-and-a-half-meter distance can no longer be guaranteed.
Evening Sessions
A spokesperson for the Council for the Judiciary points out that nationwide, more and more courts are looking for possibilities to keep sessions going as much as possible, for this purpose they are also looking at other locations. In the short term, the District Court of North Netherlands wants to schedule sessions outside the court buildings in Groningen, Leeuwarden and Assen. Initially, this will not involve criminal cases. And the Midden-Nederland District Court will hold hearings in two council chambers in the Flevoland provincial court building in the coming months and, in time, evening hearings in the courthouse to allow as many cases as possible to go ahead.
District Center
Five days are scheduled for the trial of H.: June 22, 23, 25 and 30 and July 1. On these days, the doors of the community center will open at 9:30 a.m.; the hearings will begin at 10 a.m. On June 30, prosecutors will hold their indictments and the sentence will be announced.
Experts
Experts from the Pieter Baan Center will be present for the first two or three days - depending on the length of the case - to answer questions. This case is not about the question of guilt: that Thijs H. killed three people is, in fact, no longer at issue. The question is to what extent the murders can be attributed to him. H. said he was ordered by voices in his head. According to the experts at the Pieter Baan Center, he should be declared completely insane and given tbs with compulsory treatment. The prosecution disagrees and argues that H. may have been faking a psychosis or may have induced it himself by using drugs or medication.
Assignments
On May 4, 2019, H. stabbed 56-year-old Etsuko to death in The Hague, on May 7, 68-year-old Frans and 63-year-old Diny on Brunssummerheide. He says he committed the murders under the influence of psychosis: he received "orders or messages" to do so, including through news reports and license plates. If he did not, his own family would be killed.https://www.limburger.nl/cnt/dmf20200615_00164275/publiek-kan-zaak-thijs-h-volgen-op-beeldschermen-in-wijkcentrum
