The Dutch-Argentine former pilot Julio Poch (69) and outgoing Minister of Justice & Security Ferd Grapperhaus agreed on Monday about compensation for Poch’s imprisonment in his homeland and material costs incurred.
The lawyers of Poch and the minister report this in a joint statement. The parties have agreed to ‘treat them confidentially’ about the content of the agreements. It concerns ‘compensation on humanitarian grounds for part of the damage suffered and yet to be suffered without acknowledgment of liability’.
Poch was jailed for eight years in Argentina for possible involvement in the so-called death flights during the Jorge Videla regime in the 1980s. He was eventually acquitted.
Last month Minister Grapperhaus, who represents the Dutch state, already decided on a compensation of 700,000 euros for the eight years of unjust imprisonment of Poch. His lawyer Geert-Jan Knoops said he was grateful to the minister for this, but emphasized that the amount was not sufficient for the lawyer’s fees and the debts incurred during that period. “Because the minister’s decision is irrevocable, we are now hoping for an additional decision,” said Knoops.
According to him, the amount is partly based on the years that the former pilot was wrongfully detained, the other part concerns compensation for his lawyer’s fees. “Not only did my office assist him, but also a lawyer in Argentina and one in Spain where Poch was arrested at the time.”
Knoops calculated that of the total amount, at most 135,000 euros remains to pay the lawyers. “It would be morally wrong for my client to have to use the per diem allowance for every unjust day in jail to do that.
200 euros per day
Outgoing minister Grapperhaus declared in mid-September in the House of Representatives that Poch will receive a ‘daily compensation for unjust detention’. That is 100 euros per day. Because Poch was detained abroad, that amount is doubled. According to Grapperhaus, those years were ‘tropical years’, because it was difficult for Poch’s family to visit him.
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