Today the Dutch activist Maarten Blok presented himself to the Dutch Justice Department. Tomorrow Maarten will be delivered to the Swedish authorities. Even though Maarten showed up fairly on time, the court police officers did not have the decency to let Maarten have a proper farewell. Family, friends and supporters showed up to give personal support and protest against his extradition. For three years Maarten was uncertain as to wether or not he would be extradited. He is being accused of beating a policeman with a stick during the 2001 EU-summit in Göteborg, Sweden. Even though Maartens innocence can be proven in Holland, Dutch Minister of Justice Donner decided to extradite him without taking the contents of the case into consideration. According to his lawyer and Swedish case-experts, it is unlikely that Maarten will have a fair trial in Sweden. The courthouse in Göteborg was not objective in similar cases. Not only did they accept contradicting police testimonies, they also accepted manipulated evidence and handed out unusually high sentences (especially in cases considered as ‘political’). In short, the court is more interested in setting examples than in honest jurisdiction. Maarten will not get a fair trial in Sweden. On 23rd of September Maarten’s case will be brought before the court
of Göteborg. The Maarten Supportgroup will keep a strict watch on
the coming procedures. We call upon everyone to show support and come
to his trial in Sweden.
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