WILLEMSTAD.- Gerrit Schotte and his partner Cicely Van der Dijs can still ask for clemency for their punishment to the Governor. This was what the Prosecutor General of the Public Ministry Heiko de Jong explained yesterday.

On Tuesday, November 27, Gerrit Schotte, former Prime Minister of Curaçao and political leader of MFK, was notified that the sentence pronounced against him in the Court of Appeals was final. The Supreme Court in Holland confirmed that Schotte committed acts of bribery and money laundering. He accepted money to do a favor to third parties and for this act he was sentenced to 3 years in prison and 5 years that he may not be eligible for election. His partner Cicely Van der Dijs was convicted as an accomplice in money laundering and got 15 months in jail, of which 6 months are conditional.

Mr. De Jong explained that the verdict of the Court of Appeal in the case of Gerrit Schotte and mrs. Cicely Van der Dijs, became irrevocable with the decision of the Supreme Court in the Netherlands on Tuesday 27 November. The punishment of imprisonment however, for which both were sentenced cannot be executed at this time yet.

“At this time we cannot detain them yet. This is based on Article 610 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which stipulates that the Prosecutor’s Office has to wait 8 days before, after the decision of the Court of Appeals to be able to execute the punishment. This does not only count for Schotte and Van der Dijs, but for all people who fall under this part of the Law”, according to Dr. De Jong.

A convicted person can deliver a clemency request to the Court Registry. If a convicted person is not in prizon yet, he can make a petition for clemency within a period of 8 days and must wait. The execution of the sentence must be suspended until a decision on the clemency petition is made. The Governor will decide on this petition for clemency after seeking advice from the Court and the Public Prosecutor's Office.

On the other hand, the Prosecutor’s Office indicated that according to instructions of the Attorney General, there is urgency and priority to execute the sentence of Schotte. In this case you should also wait 8 days for the Public Prosecutor to formalize the sentence that is irrevocable. In the case of Van der Dijs, another legal option will be followed to comply with her punishment.