Akwasi decision meets with incomprehension, but ‘construction is used more often’

For the OM, guaranteeing safety during the approaching Sinterklaas period is the most important, explains a spokesperson. Now that Akwasi has distanced himself from his words on social media and makes positive use of his influence, the OM hopes that the risk of violence will decrease.

“We believe that everyone should be able to walk the streets safely, even dressed as Zwarte Piet. If Akwasi had to appear in court first, it would take much longer.” The Public Prosecution Service spokesperson estimates that he should have appeared in more than six months, long after Sinterklaas, and that he would eventually be fined.

No exception

According to professor of criminal law Ferry de Jong (Utrecht University), the construction ‘guilty, but no punishment under the conditions that’ is used regularly. “It saves the Public Prosecution Service the long time and high costs involved in a public lawsuit.” Moreover, if the conditions set are in the public interest, this is preferable for the Public Prosecution Service.

In the case of Akwasi, the conditions are that he does not commit a criminal offense for a year and does not withdraw his apologies.

There is a great chance that the case will still appear in court, says professor of criminal law Sven Brinkhoff (Open University). Because if even one of the 44 people who filed a complaint against Akwasi files a complaint under Article 12 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the matter could still become a lawsuit.

This happened, for example, in the first criminal trial against PVV leader Geert Wilders, more than ten years ago. At the time, the Public Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute, but a lawsuit was nevertheless enforced through an Article 12 procedure at the court.

Akwasi’s full statement can be found in this Twitter post:

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