The public prosecution department in The Hague has abandoned its efforts to track down witnesses in Turkey in connection with claims of sexual abuse made against a former senior justice ministry civil servant.

Two Turkish men claim Joris Demmink, who was the justice ministry’s most senior official until November 2013, raped them in the 1990s when they were teenagers.

An investigation into the claims has been restarted but Turkey says it cannot cooperate with the inquiry because of ‘legal considerations’. According to the NRC, the claims were earlier investigated in Turkey and cannot be looked at again because people cannot be tried for the same crime twice.

A court in Arnhem ruled in January 2014 Demmink should face prosecution.

Demmink has for years been followed by allegations of paedophilia, which he has always denied.

Agreement

Adèle van der Plas, who represents the Turkish men, says she suspects that there is an agreement between Turkey and the Netherlands not to hand over the files.

Last December Demmink lost his claim against the AD newspaper which published an article about his alleged contacts with a child pimp.

The AD reported on the alleged contacts in October 2012, based on three different eye witnesses. The paper also quoted another source as saying boys had been picked up in Demmink’s car.