De Volkskrant is appealing against a court ruling that limits reporting on the cross-border behavior of former D66 member Frans van Drimmelen. With a so-called turbo speed call, the newspaper wants to ensure that it is still allowed to publish allegations of abuse of power and sexual intimidation.

On April 16, de Volkskrant announced that the party leadership has been withholding conclusions from a confidential report from research agency Bing for a year. This would state that Van Drimmelen is guilty of cross-border conduct.

Before the article was published, Van Drimmelen instituted summary proceedings. Due to a decision of the court in Amsterdam on April 15, the newspaper adjusted a number of matters in the article. Quotes from private messages have been removed and the newspaper has not disclosed allegations of abuse of power and sexual harassment. “The conclusion from the confidential part that there was transgressive behavior was drawn by Bing,” according to de Volkskrant.

The newspaper does not agree with the verdict and will now appeal, which will serve on May 16. Due to time pressure, the judge was unable to view the confidential attachment, the newspaper said. The judge was also unable to take into account the developments that followed after April 15, such as the reactions of Van Drimmelen, D66 and the victim. Moreover, the newspaper does not think it is right that the judge has placed a restriction on the use of “certain facts and words”, regardless of the context or the factual substantiation.

After the publication of the Volkskrant, Van Drimmelen also initiated summary proceedings to demand rectification. He withdrew this preliminary injunction before the judge could make a ruling.