Libyan state television has accused the Netherlands of spying, following the capture on Sunday of a Dutch navy helicopter and its three-strong crew by government militias.
The aim of the helicopter mission was to drop or pick up spies on Libyan soil, according to Libyan TV, which spoke of an international conspiracy against the strife-torn country.
The accusation affects current efforts to free the crew, legal expert Geert-Jan Knoops told Dutch media on Friday. He underlined that, under international law, spies have a different status than prisoners of war. “The Dutch foreign ministry now needs to move fast to try to obtain their release.”
Professor Knoops added that Dutch Embassy staff are still in Libya and can provide legal support on the ground. The Dutch defence authorities say they’ve received no official word from Libya on spying charges brought against the crew.
Few comments
Dutch government officials have been sparse in their comments on the case. Defence Minister Hans Hillen explained he could not say any more about it "in the interests of the safety of the crew". “The most important thing is to bring the three of them home,” he told De Telegraaf newspaper.
The three-strong helicopter crew were arrested on Sunday while attempting to evacuate two people from the coastal city of Sirte, the native town of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
The man they were sent to rescue was also captured with the marines, but has been handed over to the Dutch embassy. He is now back in the Netherlands. The man worked for the Dutch engineering company Royal Haskoning.
The crew includes a female pilot, Yvonne Niersman (30), who took part in last year’s mission to free a German tanker, the MV Taipan, taken over by Somalian pirates. (Video footage below)
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Edpionage is not the question here. The three crew members of the helicopter were taken into custody in full operational uniform and readily identifiable by name, rank, and serial number. The helicopter was clearly marked as belonging to the Dutch navy. What is at issue is who are the people meant to be picked up and what has happened to them since? If these individuals are spies, then they would have been given a more covert escape route with a higher probability of success. As to a government publicity stunt, this operation should have been blocked at the military planning level as being impracticable. The answer lies in the priority level of those meant to be evacuated, and how the risk of their not being able to leave Libya outweighed the enormous potential for failure this operation held.
Interesting indeed. Perhaps the Dutch Labour Party masterminded the mission's failure...
@Lonewolf, do you have factual information regarding your statement calling this a orchestrated political move by the current dutch government, because that wil be interesting for sure.
This development is worrisome. There's no political gain the desperate Gadhafi family would not make out of this blunder by the Dutch government.
Dear sir or madam,
I'm the editor at the newsroom of Radio Netherlands Worldwide. Can you please contact me on this?
Gerhard Verduijn
(+31) (0) 35-6724851
The capture of the Dutch marines/navy in Libya is the biggest Public Relations disaster and embarrassment of the Rutte administration to date. The so called "rescue attempt" was also syncronized to boost the popularity of the liberal party VVD running for majority seats in the dutch parliament. The "botched rescue" happened sunday, 27 of february, 2 days before the election in the Netherlands.The dutch public was kept in total darkness and secrecy by Mr. Rutte, a price to pay for his political ego with his clumsy advisers about the dutch marines/navy capture. Now, Col. Gaddafi has a political bargaining chip to play with the Europeans and particularly to the embarrassed dutch government.
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