The Public Prosecution Service (OM) believes that the suspect of the fatal incident, which took place at the Hazeldonk border crossing on October 21, 2023, should receive a long prison sentence. The OM considers the man guilty of manslaughter and demands 12 years in prison against the suspect in the court in Breda.
On Saturday, October 21, 2023, the 25-year-old victim was found among the parked trucks in the parking lot of the Hazeldonk-East border crossing. He had five stab wounds, and given the severity of these injuries, emergency services could do nothing for the truck driver from Belarus. He died.
It was immediately clear that the victim could not have inflicted these injuries on himself, and a large-scale investigation was launched. From camera footage and witness statements, it has been shown that the victim spent his last day in and around the parking lot with another truck driver. This was a 59-year-old man from Belarus, who was arrested three weeks later in Northern Netherlands.
‘No Transparency’
The investigation revealed that DNA from this man was found on the victim and that the victims blood was discovered in the suspects truck. It is also visible on camera footage that the two men had argued earlier in the day and pushed each other. According to the suspect, this was not an argument, and he remains silent about the fatal incident.
The suspect has never provided transparency about what exactly happened that day. “He has kept the parents, the widow, and the small children of the victim in uncertainty and ignorance for a year and a half about why their son, husband, and father had to die,” said the public prosecutor.
‘Dependent on These Parking Lots’
That the fatal incident occurred in a public parking lot where at that time ninety truck drivers were present, the OM holds against the suspect. The public prosecutor stated: “Several drivers were confronted with the dying young man, and every truck driver who stayed there that weekend became aware of this incident. Such an incident causes feelings of insecurity among drivers who depend on these parking lots.”
The OM therefore demanded 12 years in prison with deduction of pre-trial detention. The court will rule on April 16.