Yesterday, on the 25^th August 2020, the Dutch public prosecution decided that they could not bring the case against intimidation by China of Dutch Uyghurs, to the Dutch Court.

In 2019, on the advice of the Dutch Foreign Affairs officials, we started the process of filing individual police complaints against intimidation on Dutch soil by Chinese Government officials. DUHRF chairperson and secretary of the Stg. Oost-Turkistan organisaties alliantie Ablet Bakir, talked long and extensively with police officials to register the complaints. The police was not willing since they could not arrest or properly investigate the cases. Eventually they understood the importance of filing these cases to show the scope of the intimidation of a foreign entity on Dutch soil.  

Nearly hundred people of the Uyghur community filed a complaint, some were reluctant and afraid, but still they did. For them and all those who still face intimidation by China we feel sad and worried.

The reason provided by the Dutch public prosecution to not bring this case to the Dutch court, is that the perpetrators live in China. This makes independent research nearly impossible. It would also place family members in Xinjiang in grave danger from Chinese authorities. For the good relation the Dutch government has with China, they obviously do not have a good enough relationship to investigate crimes against each others citizens.

Although this is a very sad decision, the Dutch public prosecution see no problem in the ongoing process of filing a complaint in case of intimidation. The future will tell how this will play out.

This case also shows a failure from the side of the Dutch government not being capable of protecting it’s citizens against foreign intimidation on Dutch soil. The government has no mechanism against foreign entities who engage in these practices. China is not the only country doing this. The Dutch government needs a mechanism to protect it’s people in this globalizing world sooner than later.