Klaas Jan Bolt - France

April 08

Background

Klaas Jan Bolt is a Dutch national facing an all-too-familiar plight. A lorry driver with over 22 years’ experience, Mr Bolt was hired by a small Dutch transport company in late 2004 to make several trips between Spain and Netherlands for them in December 2004 and January 2005.

Part-way through what would turn out to be his final journey, he became uneasy as he noticed he was being followed by a van. He stopped, checked his load and was horrified to find cannabis hidden inside one of the containers he was carrying. His immediate reaction was to notify the Spanish police, but he was unable to make himself understood. He next telephoned his wife, who contacted the Dutch police. They advised him to abandon the lorry and return to the Netherlands, and he followed their recommendation and secured employment with a different firm.

Meanwhile, Mr Bolt’s former boss had been arrested in France in the possession of 4 tons of cannabis. Unaware of this, Mr Bolt was working again as a lorry driver when he was arrested in the Netherlands under the European Arrest Warrant (”the warrant”), having been falsely accused by his former boss of being part of the drug-smuggling gang.

The description of the facts in the warrant for his arrest are wide-ranging in place and time, listing alleged crimes between 2001 and 2004. There are at least 10 factual inaccuracies in the warrant regarding criminal acts attributed to Mr. Bolt. However as the Dutch judge who issued the warrant had no role in scrutinising the evidence, Mr Bolt was extradited to France on 16 May 2005 where he has remained in prison awaiting trial, as one of 14 suspects, amongst them seven drivers.

His accuser has since shown his remorse by admitting he lied about Mr Bolt’s involvement, writing letters of apology to Mr Bolt’s family, but this has unfortunately not led to Mr Bolt being freed. Instead, seven separate applications for release on bail have all been denied.

Over the last nearly three years, Klaas Jan Bolt has suffered mental and physical health problems, his wife and four children have been unable to visit him and his communication with the outside world has been severely curtailed by the strict French prison regime. One of our highly respected Dutch legal colleagues Han Vallenduuk, took up his case and was appalled to discover how incompetent Mr Bolt’s court-appointed lawyer was. Our colleague’s actions have led to that lawyer being disbarred from the register of lawyers.

Mr Bolt is not without campaigning friends, but his situation is desperate. His trial will be heard between 5 and 23 May 2008. It is difficult to appreciate just why he has been punished with three years’ detention while waiting for justice.

Our concerns:

• Mr Bolt is incarcerated only on the statement of a member of an organized gang – a statement which was later retracted;
• He was not provided with competent defence representation;
• There are serious concerns about the quality of interpretation he received in France ;
• He has spent an inordinately lengthy period of detention on pre-trial remand;
• He was denied bail despite having previously been a person of good character; and
• His physical and mental health have deteriorated as a consequence of his ordeal.