Reality is sometimes stranger than fiction. Certainly if the reality is the high security prison in Vught. The media is awash today with stories about how Willem Holleeder, who is awaiting trial on charges of extortion and ordering gangland killings, managed to give an interview to the Telegraaf and a tv programme without the knowledge (let alone permission) of the prison authorities.

Those authorities are not saying anything except that permission is necessary for interviews and they are investigating how Holleeder’s chat came about. It is all very strange considering Holleeder is under close scrutiny and is even handcuffed when he speaks to visitors.
The most likely accomplice, according to some experts, is Holleeder’s lawyer. It was only recently that he has been allowed to talk ‘freely’ to his client. The two had been separated by bullet-proof glass.
The public prosecutor has made light of the incident, saying Holleeder is allowed to talk to the press. Strange, given that he is restricted in virtually every other area. And stranger still is that Holleeder has refused to speak to anybody but his lawyer until this interview.
Maybe he should have kept to that strategy. Despite all the fuss, Holland’s biggest alleged crime boss doesn’t really say anything in the interview worth hearing anyway.