Lawyer: fine Grapperhaus is ‘one-two’ with OM | Inland

“My clients suspect this is a one-two punch between the Public Prosecution Service and the minister, to avoid reviewing previous cases. It looks like it, ”he says. “Grapperhaus thus anticipates a refusal to review previous cases, in which people were fined and therefore received a criminal record.”

Van Ardenne says he has not yet received a response from the Ministry of Justice and Security to his request for remission. “I would think it was decent if we got a quick answer now, especially given today’s news.”

‘Gathering’

The fine for the cake eaters concerned a couple in Schiedam who received a visit from their parents in May this year who stood on the sidewalk with cake. Because one of the parents could not climb stairs, they decided to eat the cake outside with a distance of 1.5 meters. Enforcers subsequently imposed fines of nearly $ 400 per person for “gathering in the open.”

The fact that the Minister of Justice Ferd Grapperhaus is still fined almost a month after his wedding, is according to Prime Minister Mark Rutte “the proof that there is no class justice.” According to the prime minister, Grapperhaus did not interfere with the decision of the Public Prosecution Service (OM) to impose a fine on him.

“The Public Prosecution has said: because this is a minister who is particularly responsible for enforcing the rules, we think this is a special situation and we have therefore decided to do this,” said Rutte in his weekly press conference after the cabinet meeting. The Public Prosecution itself writes in a press release that “imposing the fine serves the credibility of the enforcement of the corona rules, of which the Minister of Justice and Security is the figurehead.”

The fine was announced in the week of the most important political debates, in which PVV leader Geert Wilders fiercely criticized Rutte and Grapperhaus and called the proceedings surrounding the wedding ‘class justice’. That has nothing to do with each other, asserts Rutte, who emphasized that the OM is independent.

Criminal record

According to Rutte, the fact that Grapperhaus may soon take a decision about the reduction of the corona fine, and will probably ensure that receiving such a fine does not automatically lead to a criminal record, is no problem, according to Rutte. After all, this discussion has been going on for some time, argues the prime minister. In the debate about the wedding of Grapperhaus, the Chamber already indicated that it wanted to get rid of the note on the corona fine.

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