The Hague court has ruled that the Public Prosecution Service has not provided sufficient legal proof that Sonja K. was responsible for leaking information about PvdA member Khadija Arib. The verdict marks a stage in the three-year legal battle surrounding the former Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The court noted that other individuals could have been responsible for the leak, as multiple people were aware of the investigation into Arib. Sonja K., a former spokesperson for Vera Bergkamp (D66), who succeeded Arib as Speaker, had been a suspect in the case.

The investigation began after the presidium of the House of Representatives received an anonymous letter alleging transgressive behavior by Arib during her Speakership, which was later confirmed by some senior civil servants. K. was implicated after detectives discovered she had brainstormed with senior civil servants about leaking information about Arib during a ‘scenario meeting’.

Detectives found it suspicious that K. was one of the few civil servants who possessed a secret document quoted by NRC on the day of the leak, September 28, 2022. Her call data showed frequent communication with the NRC author who revealed the news about Arib.

K. had also misled colleagues about her whereabouts on the afternoon of the leak, claiming to visit her sick daughter in Utrecht, while her phone was detected near the NRC building in Amsterdam. Despite these suspicions, the court deemed the evidence insufficient to definitively prove K.’s involvement.

The police are also investigating Jaap van R., the former director of housing, who also had frequent contact with NRC prior to the leak and participated in the leak meeting. The daily board of the House of Representatives will decide whether to order a further investigation into Vera Bergkamp’s role in the Arib affair.

Arib has consistently asserted that the leak was orchestrated by Bergkamp and certain top civil servants who had conflicts with her.