Moszkowicz investigates damages claim against Van der Sloot

6 March 2008

HILVERSUM – Lawyer Bram Moszkowicz is investigating whether he can take Joran van der Sloot to court in a civil case.

On the television programme Pauw en Witteman on Wednesday he said there was a n "85 to 90 percent chance" that he can file for damages on behalf of Beth Twitty, the mother of missing American teenager Natalee Holloway.

Moszkowicz says Van der Sloot caused the mother damage by not telling Aruban officials information contained in the confessions he made about the disappearance on hidden camera footage taken by crime reporter Peter R. de.

The lawyer says Natalee’s mother is being treated by a psychiatrist for emotional problems.

He says this is enough reason to demand compensation for "shock damage." Moszkowicz said he would only start proceedings if the chance of success were good, since losing the case could cause Twitty’s condition to worsen. "This woman cannot take much more," he said.

The famous lawyer said he though it remarkable that Van der Sloot had not been taken into custody. "The examining judge that held him earlier without a confession now says a confession isn’t enough to hold him," Moszkowicz said.

He says Van der Sloot’s statements can be deemed a confession "without a doubt."