Weird news from The Netherlands: the criminal file on nuclear scientist Khan has been displaced, or as Dutch people would say ‘misappropriated’. Yesterday, a retiring judge for the Amsterdam judicial court who presided the Khan-case in the early Eighties, told reporters that she was surprised about earlier remarks from former prime minister Lubbers. Besides misplaced documents, she said, judicial errors and a lacklustre Justice department plagued the criminal case against Khan, things that (according to her) clearly show that the Dutch judicial system was gamed for political reasons.
Lubbers comments (which you can find at Expatica’s) about that time, clearly show how close the ties were between the (then) Dutch and US governments, that it doesn’t come to a surprise that documents ‘mysteriously’ disappeared.
Spies, misplaced documents and a bungling justice department. Add national protests against Pershing missiles, economical and political unrest, and you get a typical Eighties spy story. That is, a story where the end of it actually makes it into the history books because of the political implications and consequences of letting Khan off the hook.