The lawyer of Pim Fortuyn’s killer is taking the probation service to court, charging it with defamation, slander and breach of confidence.

Willem Jebbink is bringing the charges on behalf of his client Volkert van der Graaf, who was released from prison in May 2014 after serving two-thirds of his sentence for the murder of Pim Fortuyn.

A number of conditions were attached to his release, including that he was banned from speaking to the press.

Staged

However, last week the television programme Brandpunt Reporter said a photo used in the media had been staged, which would have broken Van der Graaf’s parole conditions.

It subsequently came to light that the photo was taken with the full knowledge of the justice ministry, including the parole service.

In an interview with the Volkskrant, Jebbink says the probation service did nothing to counteract the misinformation contained in Brandpunt. ‘They fostered a wrong impression while knowing that the situation was quite different,’ he told the paper.