New efforts in the Netherlands to take Máxima’s father to court

New efforts are being made in the Netherlands to ensure Jorge Zorreguieta, the father of princess Máxima, faces legal proceedings in connection with his role in the Argentine military junta in the 1970s.

Lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld told television talk show Pauw & Witteman on Wednesday evening new evidence has been gathered from people who worked under Zorreguieta at the agricultural ministry.

Journalist Arnold Karskens spoke to nine people who worked at the department and who say he must have known of the political killings. They have turned to the Netherlands for help, Zegveld said, because they do not think Argentina is doing enough about the issue.

Earlier efforts

Earlier efforts to have Zorreguieta brought to trial in the Netherlands in 2011 and 2012 failed when the public prosecution department ruled there was no evidence against him. The department is still considering new evidence presented by Zegveld last November.

Zorreguieta was agriculture minister during the Videla dictatorship from 1976 to 1981. Some 30,000 people disappeared during the military regime but he has always denied any knowledge of the killings.

Zorreguieta’s new ties to the Dutch royal family have been a constant source of controversy, and he and his wife will not be at their son-in-law’s inauguration as king at the end of April.

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