Universal jurisdiction, Radbruch's formula and an unexpected stun grenade

Court report of 1 September 2011

Today, only procedural matters were dealt with. First, the presiding judge got into his usual habit of declining another application. Another application for a stay of proceedings had been made on the grounds that a) the court had no jurisdiction over what happened on the Taipan and b) the trial was violating the human rights of the accused.

Report from 11 April 2011

Weapons live and in colour, another police witness, applications by the defence and court decisions.

First up, a display of weapons that were found on the Taipan and which had been shown on photos: RPGs, AK47s, pistols , ammunition and cell phones. Every item is held up for everyone to see, especially the cell phones, which appear to be very dangerous. No one has any questions so all the guns are packed away again, a process for which the court room has to be cleared.

Report from 30 March 2011

The commander of the Dutch helicopter, H.W.M. Veldhuizen gave evidence about the mission to board the Taipan. Lots of detailed questions were asked about the ratio of live ammunition to tracer ammunition, the range of the helicopter depending on air temperature and payload, etc. 3 communication channels existed between the Tromp, the helicopter and another surveillance plane. Some communication transcripts were read out. From that it appears that at some stage the helicopter was ordered to gain height because the Tromp was about to fire shots from a 40 mm gun at the Taipan.

Visual Report from : 11 April 2011

the weapons are being brought away from court - copyright s.