Joran van der Sloot remains free

15 February 2008

AMSTERDAM – Joran van der Sloot will not be arrested again for involvement in the disappearance of American high school student Natalee Holloway. His Dutch lawyer Bert de Rooij was informed of this by court officials on Curacao on Thursday evening, the lawyer told Radio 1.

De Rooij was notified after midnight, Dutch time. The court does not feel that Van der Sloot’s confession to Patrick van der Eem, caught on film by crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, is enough to have him arrested again.

Van der Sloot has reportedly lied on a number of occasions and his statements on the footage are not substantiated by objective facts, the court said, according to De Rooij.

Even before De Vries’ much talked about broadcast, Joran van der Sloot said that the presumed confessions on the footage were not true. During his questioning by Aruban police last week on Friday Joran also maintained that he had nothing to do with the disappearance.

"He pointed out parts of his statements on the footage that were untrue," the lawyer explained. "He continues to maintain that what he said in that footage can be demonstrated to be false."

Van der Sloot’s lawyer says his client remains available to the justice department, which is continuing the investigation. De Rooij is says his client has been "very hard hit, especially by the comments being made by the Dutch public. He is being threatened."

The public prosecution department appealed the examining judge’s decision last week to reject a request for Van der Sloot’s arrest. The prosecution department wants him arrested again in connection with Holloway’s disappearance.

Peter R. de Vries recently showed hidden camera footage in which Joran claims to know what happened to Holloway. She reportedly became unwell while making out with him and Van der Sloot called a friend to help him get rid of the body at sea.

Peter R. de Vries said he was disappointed at the court’s decision. "This is terrible of course," the crime reporter said, particularly for Holloway’s family.

Subject: Dutch news