Political Reactions
Immediately after the arrest, justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin, a Christian-Democrat, was criticized by a large part of parliament for the arrest. He also found opposition from within his own Christian community. In an emergency debate in parliament on May 20, 2008, Hirsch Ballin expressed his support for the prosecutor but criticized the lengthy detention of the cartoonist. A majority within parliament, including the parties supporting the government, considered the manner in which the arrest was made 'disproportionate'. The minister denied accusations made by members of the opposition that the arrest was politically motivated. The decision to prosecute was made by the prosecutor and not as the result of government policy, said the minister. The minister confirmed, however, that he had been in contact with the office of the prosecutor at whose initiative the investigation was started.
On May 21, 2008 the popular and largest Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf headed an article about parliament's condemnation of the arrest with a quote of a right wing member of parliament comparing it to practices in former East-Germany. De Volkskrant, the same morning, mentioned near disbelief within the left wing GroenLinks party that the prosecutor's office had needed three years to establish the identity of Nekschot. MP De Wit from the socialist SP party suggested that the justice minister was seeking retribution for parliament's recent opposition to new legislation on profanity. De minister denied any relation.
Read more about this topic: Gregorius Nekschot
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