Dutch to extradite Belgian suspect in toddler murder

Dutch judges on Tuesday approved the extradition of a Belgian man accused of abducting a toddler before murdering the child, in a case that sparked a massive search in two countries.

Police arrested the 34-year-old man last month near Utrecht, five days after he disappeared, with little Dean Verberckmoes believed to have been in his company.

The body of four-year-old Verberckmoes was discovered in a parking lot at Neeltje Jans, an island that forms part of the Oosterschelde flood barrier in the southern Dutch Zeeland province.

“The extradition has been granted,” judges at the Amsterdam District Court said after dismissing objections by defence lawyers.

The judges slapped down arguments saying their client would not have a fair trial in Belgium and that he would be subjected to humiliating and inhuman treatment because of overcrowding in Belgian prisons.

“The detention conditions do not stand in the way of the extradition,” the judges ruled.

Verberckmoes was last seen in the Belgian city of Sint Niklaas near Antwerp in the company of the man, news reports said at the time.

His disappearance sparked a so-called Amber Alert issued in child abduction cases.