A student was expelled from her programme and subsequently stalked and threatened employees at the UG and UMCG (and later also UKrant). She has been in pre-trial detention for some time, and will remain so until the court addresses the case.
What happened?
The woman in question was a dentistry student but was expelled from the programme due to poor performance. She disagreed with this decision, leading to a conflict between her and employees of the UMCG and the UG.
She regularly returned to the university to assert her claims. She hung up posters in UG buildings accusing employees of fraud and deception, using their names and photos.
She also harassed employees, exhibiting aggressive behaviour and intimidating and threatening people. In 2022, she received a restraining order for the UMCG, which was extended to UG buildings the following year. Additionally, the UG and the UMCG implemented extra security measures.
Were these measures and the restraining order sufficient?
No. Despite being banned from entering UG buildings, the former student continued to return. She persisted in stalking and threatening UG and UMCG employees, both in person and online.
She regularly posted threatening messages on social media about specific individuals, sometimes even adding photos of these employees’ children. She accused them of being scammers, fraudsters, and deceivers and posted messages claiming that they watched porn at work.
Therefore, in addition to the restraining order, she also received a no-contact order last year. She is not allowed to contact UG and UMCG employees.
Why was she arrested?
After complaints, including from the UG, she had to appear before the single-judge division in August 2023. She did not show up for that case. The judge found the stories about her concerning enough to instruct probation services to investigate her mental state.
Initially, she was allowed to remain free while awaiting the results of the investigation and the subsequent court hearing. However, after repeatedly violating the no-contact order late last year, she was arrested in November 2023. During the preparatory hearing (a so-called pro forma hearing) last Tuesday, the judge decided that she will remain in pre-trial detention.
Didn’t UKrant write a story about her in 2022?
That’s correct. In 2022, UKrant published a story about her situation and how she was expelled from the dentistry programme. She was extensively interviewed for this. Later, the editorial team became aware that the woman was dealing with serious mental health issues. At the time of publication, we were also unaware that she was stalking and threatening UG and UMCG employees. When this became clear, editor-in-chief Rob Siebelink decided to take the story offline.
Did UKrant also file a complaint?
After we removed the story, the woman set her sights on the UKrant staff. The editor-in-chief was repeatedly labelled as a fraudster and deceiver on social media. The woman also visited the editorial office to confront the staff, and shortly after a student in Rotterdam shot three people, she sent a message to UKrant with images of skulls, explosions, and guns. As a result, it was decided to file a complaint on behalf of UKrant as well.