The Hague court has ruled that the Public Prosecution Service has not provided enough convincing and legal evidence to prove that Sonja K. was the source of the leak related to information about PvdA member Khadija Arib.

The court acknowledged that K. was near the NRC building on the day of the leak without a clear reason, but this does not definitively prove she entered the building.

The investigation into the leak concerning Khadija Arib continues, with the daily board of the House of Representatives set to decide on further investigation into Vera Bergkamp’s role.

The verdict marks a key moment in the three-year legal battle surrounding Khadija Arib, who left her position as Speaker of the House in October 2022 after NRC published confidential information about an investigation into alleged transgressive behavior during her time as Speaker.

Detectives identified K. as a suspect after discovering she had brainstormed with senior civil servants about leaking information about Arib, allegedly leading a ‘scenario meeting’ where the leak was outlined.

K.’s call data revealed frequent contact with the NRC author who revealed the news about Arib, and she had initially lied about her whereabouts on the day of the leak.

The court noted that ten people were present during the strategy meeting and nineteen were aware of the decision to conduct the investigation, making it possible that someone else shared the information.

A second suspect, Jaap van R., is also under investigation for frequent contact with NRC before the leak, and his participation in the leak meeting.