CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Witnesses at an Oct. 4 Helsinki Commission briefing called for increased pressure on the Dutch government to look into numerous sexual abuse accusations against a high ranking government official.<\/p>\n\t\u201cIt is imperative that the justice system be ready to listen to allegations and to thoroughly investigate allegations no matter when they are raised \u2013 and no matter who is accused,\u201d said Congressman Chris Smith (R-N.J.), chairman of the commission.<\/p>\n
\tIn a recent report on human trafficking, the U.S. recognized the Netherlands as having \u201cTier 1 Status,\u201d meaning that the country fully complies with minimum standards to fight human trafficking.<\/p>\n
\tHowever, Smith argued, the anti-trafficking laws in the country are not being properly enforced.<\/p>\n
\tThe briefing focused on allegations against Joris Demmink, the Secretary General at the Ministry of Justice in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
\tDemmink has been accused of raping two young teenage boys, now adults, while visiting Turkey in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
\tThe boys' lawyer, Ad\u00e8le van der Plas, said that the criminal charges filed on behalf of these boys were never officially investigated, despite the availability of primary witnesses. One of the accusers has reportedly faced threats and abuse for coming forward with his story.<\/p>\n
\tRather than investigate the matter, she said, the government accepted Demmink\u2019s claim that he was not in Turkey in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
\tWhile Turkish sources have evidence to suggest that this is not accurate, she said, \u201cthere is considerable pressure exerted on the Turks by the Dutch not to reveal the truth.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
\tThe Turkish allegations are not the first time that a similar investigation has been deterred, van der Plas said. She explained that in 1998, Amsterdam police began an investigation into \u201ca pedophile network of influential Dutch customers of boys brothels.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHowever, \u201cas soon as Demmink became a person of interest in this matter, the investigation was shut down\u201d and law enforcement officers \u201cwere forced to sign non-disclosure agreements,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\tA key witness from the 1998 investigation also testified at the briefing, telling about how he was deceived in an Amsterdam train station at age 14, kidnapped and forced to work in a brothel, where he was repeatedly abused by pedophiles and forced to make child pornography films.<\/p>\n
\tAt one point, he said, he was sexually abused by Demmink, and he was later able to tell his story to the Amsterdam police force. However, when the investigation was suddenly dropped, he faced murder attempts, and he has been forced to hide his identity to this day in order to protect his safety.<\/p>\n
\tVan der Plas voiced concern that a similar situation is now taking place with the Turkey allegations.<\/p>\n
\tKlaas Langendoen, former Chief of Criminal Intelligence Services for the Netherlands, agreed.<\/p>\n
\tHe described how during the course of an investigation into wiretapping allegations, he came to believe that Turkish authorities had been blackmailing the Netherlands into framing a Kurdish activist after Demmink was caught sexually abusing minors at a 1995 party in Turkey.<\/p>\n
\tAlthough he worked to help create an independent commission to uncover more facts, the Dutch Justice Department blocked the commission from travelling to Turkey and carrying out adequate research, he explained.<\/p>\n
\tLangendoen said that he went on to conduct his own \u201cextensive research,\u201d which convinced him that \u201cthere is and has been abuse of minors\u201d by high police and justice officials in the Netherlands, as well as efforts to block or cover up any attempts at criminal investigation or prosecution. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\tHe said that he has come to realize that the Dutch government is unwilling to \u201ccarry out a fair independent investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThe witnesses asked the U.S. State Department to remove the Tier 1 Status from the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
\tThey also urged the Helsinki Commission to pressure Turkish officials to release Demmink\u2019s travel dates during the 1990s in order to move towards a thorough criminal investigation into his activities.<\/p>\n
\n
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