Persecution of Dutch Journalists

This blog has reported before on the persecution of Dutch journalists by the state.

Here is a piece on investigative journalists Joost de Haas and Bart Mos in May for publishing state secrets. Here is a piece on editors of Dutch newspapers meeting with the AIVD (Dutch internal security) about the protection of journalists and their sources, after same arrests and wiretaps on the journalists.

The journalists work for "De Telegraaf", the biggest newspaper in the Netherlands.

The journalists have information sources within the police and the internal security services. The security community is using pressure to get the journalists to reveal who their sources are.

The journalists write about the activities of Dutch gangsters, drug runners, arms traders, extortionists and real estate tycoons who are becoming increasingly powerful in The Netherlands and the activities of the police and AIVD to tackle them.

The fact that organised crime has fully penetrated the police and the AIVD and generally knows what is going on at the top level has been a major embarassment for the security forces. The fact that Mr. Mos and Mr. de Haas are exposing their inability to address the matter seems to drive them absolutely mad.

This case figures prominently in the Dutch press right now. It has been the front page of "De Telegraaf" yesterday.