Burglar claims his privacy was violated
The Dutch Union of Criminals — I kid you not — has complained to the national ombudsman that the police of Drenthe have violated a young burglar’s privacy by posting a video of the criminal at work.
A spokesperson for the Civil Committee against Injustice cried: “This is a joke, right?!”
Internet lawyer Arnoud Engelfriet doesn’t give the union a snowball’s chance in hell: “The police have put the film online to track down the suspect, which is legal according to Article 22 of the Dutch copyright code, the part that deals with portrait rights.”
Family of the 88-year-old real victim had installed cameras in the home after she had been robbed a number of times.
A famous former member of the Union of Criminals is former justice minister Rita Verdonk. The union aims to protect prisoners, former prisoners and suspects against unfair practices of the state.
(Photo: a still from the video.)
I don’t see how the facts justify the complaint. The police do have the right to use the film to find the suspect. Just the same, it’s good that someone looks after the rights suspects have becuase not all suspects are guilty. In the USA, the American Civil Liberty Union does that kind of work.