Six men found not guilty of being members of the so-called Hofstad terrorist network in March are taking legal action to claim damages for the time they were held in jail. One of the six, Dutch-American Jermaine Walters, has submitted a claim for €195,000.

This is based on a payment of €1,000 per day for wrongful detention and extra cash to compensate for loss of income and moving home. Walters was held for 176 days before being released from jail because of a lack of evidence. His brother Jason was later sentenced to 15 years in jail for membership of a terrorist organisation and for throwing live hand grenades at the police during his arrest in The Hague.
The justice ministry says it will only pay €95 a day which is its standard level of damages for people who were held in custody but later found not guilty. Five other men who were freed after the Hofstad trial are also applying for compensation. The Telegraaf reports that the highest claim so far is set to be made by Nadir Adarraf. He said in June that he wanted €1.6 mln in compensation because his reputation had been ruined and he has been unable to find a job. In total 14 men went on trial for alleged involvement in the Hofstad group – a name invented by the secret service. Three were sentenced to jail, six were found guilty but released as they had already served their sentence in the period leading up to the trial, and five were found not guilty. Jermaine was released before the trial began.