Curious death of Joris Demmink critic
Fred de Brouwer
NOTE: After an extensive investigation into the Joris Demmink case, it has to be concluded that Fred de Brouwer spread disinformation. He certainly was not a honest, indenpendent journalist.
March 16, 2014, De Telegraaf newspaper, 'Doodrijder Nederlandse journalist gevlucht' ('Driver who killed Dutch journalist has fled'):
"BANGKOK - The Dutch journalist Fred de Brouwer who died last Friday in Thailand after a traffic accident with his scooter, was hit by a white car who is alleged to have followed him for a brief time before that.
This is what eye witnesses have told the girlfriend of Fred, Araya, who also lives in Thailand. The person who caused the accident drove off after he ran Fred de Brouwer off his scooter. ...
After the accident, the wounded journalist was initially taken up by the state hospital in Chonburi. But because they didn't have enough equipment there to treat him, it was decided to move De Brouwer to a better equipped hospital. However, that one refused him, after his family wasn't able to pay for the required bail of 200,000 bath (4500 euros). Subsequently de Brouwer died at the emergency department of a state hospital.
In 2003 Fred de Brouwer (58) was the author of the first articles in GayKrant and Panorama about Joris Demmink [name not given at that point], the former secretary general (SG) of the Justice Department.
At this moment Demmink is a suspect in a judicial inquiry about child abuse. ...
Shortly after his publications, which had to be rectified, the journalist emigrated to Thailand, because, according to his own words, he didn't feel at home anymore in the Netherlands.
The last couple of days he was in extensive contact with Dutch journalists about the Demmink case, among those reporters of De Telegraaf, in relation to hearings that are taking place at the moment about the former SG.
According to his former colleage, Henk Krol, de Brouwer would have considered coming to the Netherlands to talk about his knowledge on the Demmink dossier in the television program Pauw & Witteman. The producers of Pauw & Witteman denies this. "The past few weeks we did have contact with Fred, but there was no agreement to come to the Netherlands and appear on our show," according to P&W producer Danielle van Lieshout."
March 15, 2014, De Telegraaf newspaper, 'Auteur Demmink-artikelen omgekomen bij ‘verdacht’ verkeersongeluk in Thailand' ('Author Demmink articles died after 'suspicious' traffic accident in Thailand'):
"Fred de Brouwer was driven over last night in the Thai coastal town Chonburi, after he fell from his scooter. According to bystanders the accident raises questions, because the car that drove him over would have had plenty of opportunity to evade him."
Circumstantial
- Joyce Labruyere
- Wilfred Brinkhuis
- Rob Mostert
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Related death #1: Rob Mostert
December 30, 2008, Het Parool newspaper, 'Strafpleiter Gerard Hamer overleden' ('Prosecutor Gerard Hamer deceased'):
Ja, dit moet je echt moet corrigeren. Ik ben heb namelijk bij Mostert’s echtgenote en dochter thuis een uitvoerig gesprek gehad tijdens ons drie maanden research en toen was meneer echt al overleden. Vandaar dat ik het zeker weet.
Ik bedacht me vanochtend dat het overlijden van Mostert een van de redenen was dat Henk en ik ons onderzoek zijn begonnen. Er werd namelijk toen al van verschillende kanten gesuggereerd – ook door De Wit cs – dat Mostert geen natuurlijke dood was gestorven. Precies als [Eric] Nordholt [oud-hoofdcommissaris van politie in Amsterdam] deed richting [society-journalist Thomas] Lepeltak. En wat bedoelde Nordholt toen er werd gevraagd of er obductie was gepleegd en hij lachend antwoordde: “Ja, wat denk je?” Dat is op twee manieren uit te leggen.
Ik weet nog dat echtgenote en dochter vertelden dat de ritjes met D. niet populair waren omdat die dikwijls midden in de nacht plaatsvonden en vaak ongepland. Wel kregen ze in die gevallen extra betaald.
De weduwe Mostert(d) en haar dochter waren zeer vriendelijk, maar ook erg nerveus. Mevrouw Mostert was zelfs zo zenuwachtig voor ons gesprek dat ze haar dochter het woord liet doen. Ik had oprecht medelijden met hen, hun verdriet was intens. Van de affaire D. zeiden ze niets te weten. Ze hielden vol dat hun echtgenoot/vader nimmer iets had verteld over D.’s nachtelijke escapades naar het AF plantsoen. Ze twijfelden daar ook ernstig aan, want “vader zou D.’s vermeende wangedrag nooit hebben geaccepteerd.”
Ik ken Gerrit de Wit, hij was een van onze eerste contacten, zo niet hét eerste. We hebben hem gesproken met nog een andere oud-politieman, van wie ik de naam niet zo vlug weet te herinneren. Ik weet niet meer of Henk en/of ik De Wit en die partner later nog gesproken hebben, of dat het contact is verbroken. Dat is overigens op verschillende andere momenten wél gebeurd, dit tot onze stomme verbazing. Zo was onze relatie met Kleintje Muurkrant prima, tot we op een gegeven moment – als donderslag bij heldere hemel – een vals emailtje kregen. Zonder enige aanleiding – althans niet dat wij weten. KM was opvallend goed geïnformeerd – die moeten een mol bij Justitie hebben gehad. Op de rechtzitting van de Deken van Weert tegen Panorama/Gaykrant werd door de advocaat van de tegenpartij een verklaring voorgelezen van Fons Spooren, waarin die ontkende Henk en mij ooit te hebben ontmoet of gesproken. Terwijl Spooren verschillende keren bij Henk thuis heeft ‘uitgehuild’ en wij nooit hebben opgeschreven dat hij zich wel degelijk zonder condoom sex had met jongens uit het AF plantsoen. Terwijl hij wist dat ie HIV geïnfecteerd was. Die jongens hebben wij destijds geïnterviewd en ze hebben met Henk’s telefoon naar Spooren gebeld om hun beklag te doen, waarop Spooren aanbood om de HIV-testen te vergoeden…
Er zijn in die tijd hele rare dingen gebeurd, die nog altijd raadsels zijn en waarvan wij het vermoeden hebben dat ze van hogerhand werden georkestreerd. Zo stond op een ochtend de auto van Henk Krol midden op straat, terwijl ie toch echt voor de garage was geparkeerd. Die auto kon nooit zijn weggeduwd, want het was een automaat. Ook de herkomst van het briefje op Henk’s voordeur met de mededeling dat ons met klem werd geadviseerd om met ons onderzoek te stoppen, is nooit achterhaald. Er zijn tientallen momenten geweest waarop wonderlijke dingen gebeurden of vreemde telefoontjes werden gepleegd; door echtgenotes van AIVD-medewerkers, bijvoorbeeld, door politici en burgemeesters. Anoniem of met de mededeling dat we nooit hun namen mochten noemen.
Probeer het zuiver te blijven zien, Winston. Over Van Traa wordt ook gefluisterd dat ie niet normaal is gestorven, maar niemand heeft het ooit kunnen bewijzen. En hoe weet jij dat, dat iemand ervoor heeft gezorgd dat er geen lijkschouwing is gedaan? En heeft er inderdaad geen obductie plaatsgevonden? Ik weet het niet hoor…
Related death #1: Rob Mostert
De Rolodex-zaak vindt zijn oorsprong in 1998 wanneer een vrouw zich meldt bij de Amsterdamse politie. Ze vertelt dat haar 12-jarige dochter is verkracht door haar vriend. Hij werd aangehouden en klaagde meteen over klassenjustitie: hoge heren zouden wel vrijuit kinderen mogen misbruiken. „Hij vertelde tijdens zijn verhoor onder andere dat twee hoofdofficieren van justitie een jongensbordeel in Amsterdam zouden bezoeken. Een hoogleraar aan de VU was er ook bij betrokken. De verklaringen waren zeer gedetailleerd. De man beschikte ook over geheime telefoonnummers van magistraten uit de Rolodex (telefoonklapper) van de eigenaar van een Amsterdams jongensbordeel. Hij wist zelfs precies te vertellen op welk tafeltje de telefoonklapper stond”, zegt Vrakking. In die jaren deden overigens regelmatig wilde beschuldigingen de ronde over foute magistraten en agenten. Zo zou er een officier van justitie worden gechanteerd met een video-opname die in een bordeel van hem was gemaakt. Een officier zou een verdachte wapenhandelaar uit de wind hebben gehouden. En weer een andere collega zou tegen betaling van een ton een beslag tegen een verdachte hebben opge-
NRC:
Officer of justice Fred Teeven (nu secretary of state of justice) headed the intelligence work in which print data of telephones and information of credit cards were collected, and witnesses heared. [Vrakking:] "In the intelligenge work it turned out that the BVD [Dutch intelligence, now the AIVD] had received compromising information on Demmink. The driver of Demmink, Rob Mostert (deceased in 2000), had stated to the BVD "he couldn't stand it anymore". He was troubled by the fact that Demmink, in his government car, sometimes had sex with boys. In the end, after talks with Teeven, it was decided that the information about Demmink would not be pursued further because it was outside of the scope of the Rolodex investigation. The team tactically focused itself on the two chief officers and the VU-professor. So the name of Demmink had definitely been dropped, but not looked at deeper. It also wasn't clear if underaged boys were involved in case of Demmink. The information was only about sex in the government car", Vrakking says.
Related death #3 (not considered suspicious by ISGP): attorney Gerard Hamer
December 30, 2008, Het Parool newspaper, 'Strafpleiter Gerard Hamer overleden' ('Prosecutor Gerard Hamer deceased'):
The well-known Amsterdam lawyer Gerard Hamer (54) died suddenly yesterday. It is suspected that he was struck with a heart attack while on his bike, heading home.
In De Pijp hamer headed Holland's largest law office, Cleerdin and Hamer. ...
Hamer became especially well known as a crusader for customers who in his eyes had been done injustice by the government, like addicts ... who did not have access to social workers or relatives of persons who died due to police violence. After his trials, all the way to the European Court and [the European Court of] Human Rights, the state was regularly reprimanded.
January 12, 2009, Trouw, 'Gerard Hamer 1954-2008':
Once again the lawyer had demonstrated his resistance to the judges who knew this so well of him. ... He was breathing in the necks of the authorities. During the judicial procedures Gerard Hamers initiated, guidelines for home evictions and restraining orders were often adjusted. ...
In Bussum he sebsequently went to the gymnasium at the Gooi Lycium [most elite neighborhood in the Netherlands]. His youth and student time would not become periods he would later talk about a lot. That he studied law and philosophy at the University of Amsterdam, then still called the Gemeentelijke Universiteit (GU), was not generally known. Few knew how he lived.
[Details how he stod up for addicts making too much in the neighborhood and such. And how he came up for relatives of people who died in police custody (very rare). Had a girlfriend.]
In the mean time he lived on cigarettes, cigars and black coffee. Preferably he poured a whole pack of coffee into the filter and turned on the water. He filled his own thermos and thus drank a whole pack of coffee. .. The coffee kept him awake during his endless working days. Seven days a week he was at his office, often until deep into the night. Vacations he kept to an absolute minimum. ...
The coffee and cigaresttes Gerard Hamer had to say goodbye when he got a first heat attack ten years ago. He had to live healthier, go on vacation more often. ...
But after such a vacation you didn't need to expect elaborate stories. Talking about himseld Gerard Hamer did as little as possible. Who asked him, "How is it going?", als received the answer "Wh don't you tell me how it is going with you?". Parties he avaided like the plague. Contact would become too personal at that oint. Not that he wasn't interested: if a colleague got a child, he would be at the door within hours after the birth. But the other way around, he would not invite people at home. With him you went to a restaurant or cafe, where he could spend generously. Even colleagues with whom he worked for more than twenty years, knew little about his private life.
Hamer en Janos
Gay Krant
November 6, 2003 (originally October 17)
gk.nl/index.php?id=9&a=bericht&bericht=129 (accessed: July 7, 2007)
[ISGP note: This post was made in the same month (October 2003) as the revelations of Gay Krant about the allegations of child abuse against Joris Demmink. These were the very first reports about Demmink, even though his name was withheld at this pont. ]
(The message below is a repost of October 17 and was initially lost due to the site crash of last week; thanks to an enthousiastic web reader it can be placed again.)
Mr. Gerard Hamer, criminal law expert and philiosophist in Amsterdam, thinks that minister Jan-Hein Donner "has something to explain". According to the Public Prosecutor's Office [OM] the criminal complaint of the 28-year-old "Janos" would have been bogus. This Janos stated that a top public official of the Justice Department has sexually abused him while he was still a minor. After an interview of three days (Tuesday from 12:00 to 17:00, Wednesday from 15:00 to 0:30 and Thursday from 10:00 to 17:00) the Public Prosecutor's Office made it known that someone from journalistic circles, who also promised him a payment, had incited him. Half an hour after this press conference the OM added that this certainly was not someone from the Gay Krant.
Thursday evening Janos explained that at SBS-6 that he will continue to stand by his initial story, because he had to withdraw his complaint under strong pressure. That would be a grave violation, which increases the rumors that this issue would be influenced by the top of the Justice Department. According to Mr. de Hamer, what is certain is that serious mistakes have been made by the Public Prosecutor's Office [OM]. If the Public Prosecutor's Office had reasons to mark Janos as a suspect at a certain point, then it should have pointed out his rights and obligations. According to Janos, this has not happened. He also explained at SBS-6 that he, against the rules, did not receive a copy of the testimonies he has made, signed by him. Janos also didn't get the offer to have a lawyer present of a trauma psychologist, something that is generally the custom with victims of sexual abuse at a young age.
Press officer of the Justice Department, Van der Voort, of the Den Bosch district, admits that these requirements weren't met. According to Hamer, certainly also in this case a (video) tape should have been made of the interview, so that it could be checked later on if everything has been conducted according to the rules. Friday Van der Voort had to admit to SBS-6 that this also has been forgotten by the police. With the Public Prosecutor's Office has manoeuvred itself into a tight corner. Now Hamer really thinks that Minister Donner has to explain a few things "about this bizarre issue".
The literal text from Voice of Holland [Stem van Nederland], SBS-6, Friday, October 17, 2003:
Ilse Colson: Has a copy of the given testimony been provided to you?
Janos: No.
Ilse Colson: has a recording been made of the hearing?
Janos: No.
Ilse Colson: Has there been judicial support, for instance, a lawyer?
Janos: No.
Ilse Colson: has this case been handled as a sexual crime?
Janos: No.
Ilse Colson: For example, has there been involved an expert in sexual abuse or trauma?
Janos: No.
Hosts: According to the District Attorney's Office the interview would have been conducted according to the rules and would Janos not been pressured at all. Just before this broadcast we briefly had contact over the phone with the Public Prosecutor's Office.
Spokesman of the Public Prosecutor in Den Bosch is Charles van der Voort: No psychologist was present. But there were two certified vice squad detectives. Detectives who have enjoyed a special education to be able to adequately conduct these type of very complex interviews... But if you mean if there was a separate external psychologist involved: it wasn't in that phase yet. I distance my completely from any suggestioon that you would be involved in a plot of the police and justice. As I just said, they are detectives working for and certified by the police in South-East Brabant, specialized in sexual abuse cases but above all police officers who just write everything down, because that is what is required of them. And when they write that this is how things went then generally I have not a single reason to doubt that.
Hosts: Ans still Janos maintains that he didn't lie. He would have withdrawn his complaint, because detectives put great pressure on him. The Amsterdam lawyer Gerard Hamer had placed his question marks with the interview of janos.
Gerard Hamer, lawyer: The whole case is bizarre. I think justice shold have proceeded with the utmost discretion. This man has filed a complait against one of the Justice Department's public officials. Now you really need to treat the complaint with the ultimate discretion, because, ater all, the chief of police, the minister of justice, has already said that it isn't true. Maybe it would have been handy if we could just look at the video recordings, because we can assume that video recordings have been made about this complaint.
Question to the spokesman of the Prosecuter's Office in Den Bosch, Charles van der Voort: Have recordings of the interview been made?
Charles van der Voort: No, those have not been made.
Gerard Hamer: In a case like this you need to make video recordings.
Question: And what if that hasn't happened?
Gerard Hamer: Then the minister has a lot of explaining to do. Certainly when already beforehand the minister says that it cannot be true - and this person says that it is true. ... Then I want to know how these interviews have been conducted. How precise and careful? Which verbal violence has been used against this man? How was this man spoken to? All that has to be verifiable.
Host: That concludes our report about the possible sexual abuse of a top public official of the Justice department.