Terror suspect demands new name, damages

6 May 2005

AMSTERDAM — Terror suspect Jermaine W., an alleged member of the Hofstad group, wants a new name now that he has been freed from jail.

His lawyer Charles Starmans said W. believes it will be “very difficult” to return to society with his existing name.

W. was freed from jail last week due to a lack of evidence, but the public prosecutor still considers him a suspect.

The 18-year-old is one of 12 young men facing charges of planning terrorist attacks and alleged membership of the Hofstad network.

Rotterdam Court remanded 11 of the suspects in custody during a preliminary hearing this week. Another pre-trial hearing is scheduled for 27 July.

Starmans is demanding damages for his client, claiming that W.’s name has been unjustly tarnished. He also said the young man spent six months unjustly detained.

Jermaine W. was arrested after a terrorism alert in The Hague on 10 November, when his brother Jason W. was arrested with another man.

Four police officers were injured in a grenade attack, sparking a 14-hour stand-off with the two suspects. Both men were arrested when police fired tear gas into the house in the Laakkwartier district in The Hague.

Jermaine was arrested the same day in Amersfoort because he’d had telephone contact with his brother during the police operation.

Subject: Dutch news