Expatica news

Dutch news in brief – 12 May 2004

Dutch women jailed in Turkey on heroin charges

A court in Turkey ordered on Wednesday two Dutch women from Rotterdam to serve six years and three months in jail on charges of heroin smuggling and membership of a criminal organisation. The court sentenced main suspect Y. C. of Schiedam to the same jail term as the two women. The Turkish prosecutor claimed his gang had previously used other Dutch women as drug couriers. Co-accused O. K. of Schiedam was also sentenced to six years and three months jail. Convicted women Anna Maria S. and her cousin Linda F. have always denied the charges. They were arrested on 10 June last year in the southern Turkish city Antalya. Prosecutors accused them of trying to smuggle 6kg of heroin into the Netherlands.

Killed Dutch soldier returns home

The body of the Dutch soldier killed in Iraq on Monday will be flown home to Leeuwarden in the Netherlands on Wednesday night. The body of Dave Steensma will then be transferred with military honours to the man’s family, who originate from the Friesland town of Franeker. The body was flown to the Al Khidr military base in southern Iraq and transferred to a flight to the Netherlands from Kuwait City. Steensma is survived by his wife and two children and will be laid to rest with full military honours. It is not yet known when the funeral will be held or whether he will be buried or cremated.

Intertrek abandons Spanish Sierra hiking trips

The travel organisation Intertrek has stopped organising trips to the Spanish Sierra Nevada mountains after the deaths of three Dutch hikers last week, newspaper Het Parool reported. Anyone who has already made a booking with the travel bureau has been informed of the decision. Director Piet Boorsma said based on emotional reasons, it was wise to stop similar hiking trips. The eight survivors and Dutch guide — who has been charged with culpable homicide —have since returned to the Netherlands. The guide is facing prosecution in Spain for the three deaths.

Man arrested over Snowworld robbery
 
Police arrested in The Hague on Monday a Zoetermeer man on suspicion he was involved in a robbery at the ski centre Snowworld in February. The man will appear in court on Thursday. The ski centre was broken into at about 3am on 20 February and eight employees were tied up, before one of them escaped and alerted police. Further arrests have not been ruled out.

Dutch nurses feel threatened

A survey in the magazine Nursing revealed that 90 percent of readers experience fear while on the job, Radio Netherlands has reported. Friends and family members of patients are allegedly the main source of aggression.
 
Man rescued from locked-up train

A 21-year-old man locked in a train in The Hague was rescued after he set fire to a rolled up newspaper and waved it to attract the attention of passers-by. The man fell asleep in the train and woke several hours later to find that he was alone and locked inside. Passers-by later saw the light inside the train and alerted police, who rescued the man at about 2.30am on Wednesday, news agency Novum reported. He had been locked up inside the train since 6.15pm on Tuesday.

[Copyright Expatica News 2004]

Subject: Dutch news