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Joran van der Sloot remains at liberty
Joran van der Sloot is - for the time being at least - not going to be arrested following his comments about the disappearance of US high school student Natalee Holloway.
hidden camera footageA magistrate on the Caribbean island of Aruba says the young Dutchman's 'confessions' shown in Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries' Sunday evening television programme are not sufficiently substantial to warrant his being rearrested. However, the investigation will be reopened.
The examining magistrate on Aruba has turned down a request from the Public Prosecutor's Office for the arrest of Joran van der Sloot. The Dutch teenager has already been detained twice and also held in custody for a time.
The examining magistrate says that, given this background of arrests and imprisonment, very strong arguments must be presented before Joran van der Sloot can be detained and held on remand once again.
Careful, caution
The legal authorities in Aruba have already viewed - parts of - Peter R. de Vries' video material. On 29 January 2008, when Joran van der Sloot was last filmed using a hidden camera, the examining magistrate ordered that the investigation into him be reopened.
The Aruban authorities say the video footage is such that its contents suggest, "that this version of the facts might come close to the truth". However, the Public Prosecutor's Office says the 'confessions' need to be approached with great care and caution. The mere circumstance that the television programme appears to have solved the case of Natalee Holloway's disappearance 'in front of many people' does not mean that this is necessarily sufficient material to obtain a conviction in court.
Peter R. de Vries' television programme - shown on a Dutch commercial channel on Sunday evening 3 February 2008 - drew some 7 million viewers, a record number for a non-sports programme.
New questions
Joran van der Sloot's revelations - as heard on the video material - have also led to new questions. For example, it's still not clear who his 'accomplice' was. Joran van der Sloot says someone named Daury helped to dispose of Natalee Holloway's body in the sea.
However, Daury (21) is quoted in Dutch newspaper DAG as saying that he had nothing to do with the affair and that on the day of Natalee's disappearance he was at school in Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
It has been reported, incidentally, that it was Joran van der Sloot who gave DAG Daury's telephone number because he felt bad about having guilty that he gave the name of a friend as his accomplice so easily.
Forensic evaluation
The Aruban authorities have announced that they intend to ask forensic experts to determine whether Natalee Holloway was already dead when she was thrown into the sea. Radio Netherlands Worldwide correspondent Jos de Roo says it's hoped they will be able to provide a definitive answer as to Natalee Holloway's physical condition at the time. "There's a suspicion that she wasn't dead at all. Forensic experts have to determine if the combination of alcohol and drugs was so lethal that she could have died right away. If that isn't the case, then the charge of contributing to her death will be added to that of the disappearance of the body."
Attitudes in Aruba
De Roo says most Arubans don't want to discuss the case. He says, "They're fed up with it. Or they don't want to be quoted in the media because they'll be labelled as being either for or against [the suspect]". There are also strong differences of opinion on the island, as De Roo explains:
"Some people believe that Joran didn't have anything to do with it. Others hope that this will be the big breakthrough that solve the case, so that Aruba as a whole can heave a sigh of relief and move forward."
* RNW translation (fs/tpf)
Tags: Aruba, Daury, Forensic investigation, Joran van der Sloot, Natalee Holloway, Peter R de Vries, Public Prosecutor's office
