Everyone has the right to information. This is especially true when it concerns human rights violations; victims’ relatives have the right to know what happened to their loved ones.

The law looks at the case from the other side: how can you prosecute someone for withholding such information? The silent suspect in the spotlight is Jorge Zorreguieta, father of Princess Máxima, wife of the heir apparent to the Dutch throne.

Between 1976 and 1983, Argentina's military dictatorship 'disappeared' tens of thousands of its political opponents. According to Amnesty International, around 30,000 people were murdered by the Videla regime and Jorge Zorreguieta was the regime's deputy agriculture minister, later rising to agriculture minister. He has refused to say anything about what happened during the Dirty War, even though he must have known exactly what was going on. His refusal to reveal the truth could land him in court next time he comes to the Netherlands to visit his daughter.

No statute of limitations
An increasing number of countries have amended existing legislation in order to be able to prosecute the deliberate disappearance of ordinary citizens as a crime against humanity. As such, there is no statute of limitations and crimes against humanity can be prosecuted almost anywhere; lawyers call it universal jurisdiction. The Netherlands has also amended its legislation and this has resulted in new charges against Mr Zorreguieta being filed with the Public Prosecutor's Office in Rotterdam. The first attempt to prosecute the former member of Argentina's military junta failed in 2001.

Lawyers Liesbeth Zegveld and Göran Sluiter filed a 39-page complaint against Mr Zorreguieta on behalf of the families of three of the dictatorships’ victims. The lawyers contend that Mr Zorreguieta can be prosecuted under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. The international treaty became Dutch law in December 2010.

Liesbeth Zegveld: "Dutch law and international law both protect people against being forcibly disappeared. One of three hallmarks of a forced disappearance is that it remains a crime as long as that person remains disappeared, in detention or kidnapped. As long as the fate of a victim is unknown, it remains an unsolved crime and, as such, is a prosecutable offence."

Still being committed
According to the lawyers, the charges against Mr Zorreguieta do not concern crimes committed long ago but crimes that are still being committed, as the fate of the victims is still unknown.

"He has information about what happened and where the Videla regime's victims are. Only when he tells what he knows, can the crime stop being committed.”

The lawyers will only been satisfied when Mr Zorreguieta is brought to trial, where he stands trial is irrelevant. Mr Sluiter is following the case very carefully:

"If Argentina decides to try him tomorrow, that's absolutely fine by me, as long as it is a serious and proper prosecution. We're very worried that the Netherlands and Argentina will try and hide behind each other in the discussion of where he should face trial. Buenos Aires could say that its courts are too busy and the Netherlands could say that Argentina is dealing with the case and so we can do nothing."

The international crimes division in Rotterdam is now studying in the complaint and will decide whether or not to mount a prosecution. An important requirement is that the suspect must have ties to the Netherlands. Mr Sluiter is very clear on that issue:

"He's frequently in the Netherlands and he maintains his silence here as well. It's not as though he just happened to be here on holiday; he's here because of his family ties and his role in the Argentine military dictatorship. He has had ample opportunity to divulge what he knows about the regime's victims, but he has refused to do so. This means that the Netherlands is also the scene of the crime."

Better choices
The Public Prosecutor's Office says it is studying the charges. The Rotterdam office already has a dossier on Argentina; it contains details of the case against the Argentinian-Dutch pilot Julio Poch. He has been accused of carrying out death flights for the Videla regime and is now awaiting trial in Argentina. The international crimes division is quite busy at the moment. It is prosecuting a case against Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers as well as the case against a Rwandan involved in that country's genocide.

Mr Sluiter says the PPO must choose its cases more carefully:

"The International Criminal Court and the Yugoslavia Tribunal both say it is important to prosecute those who devise and plan the crimes against humanity; they want the big fish, not small fry who do the dirty work. Until now, the Netherlands has been going after the small fry. This is an opportunity for a major prosecution. What is important is prosecuting people responsible for policy and planning, because they are responsible for the evil that their followers do and they are the ones who should be prosecuted first."

(/imm)