Vindicat member faces trial

A 24-year-old member of student association Vindicat will be prosecuted for aggravated assault. He is alleged to have stood on an aspiring member’s head during initiation in 2016.
By Peter Keizer / Translation by Sarah van Steenderen

The case will be brought before the three-judge criminal division, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) says. The OM decided to investigate the assault in October of last year after the victim and the student association’s board reported the incident.

The aspiring member was seriously injured during the initiation period after a senior member stood on his head. The victim suffered cerebral oedema, a dangerous swelling in the brain caused by fluid build-up.

Investigation

The OM has talked to several students involved in the incident. They also reached out to experts to help them create a proper overview of the victim’s medical situation, according to a spokesperson. ‘This procedure is time-consuming, but we needed it to be able to apprehend the suspect and confront him with the medical information’, the OM says.

The 24-year-old suspect was interrogated in March. It is not yet known when exactly he has to appear before the court. According to the OM, the investigation has not yet concluded: they still need to speak to two more witnesses.

Initiation

In combination with a leaked bang list and photos of Vindicat’s initiation practices which the UK published in September, the assault led to the university restricting future initiation practices. The accreditation committee that is assessing the initiation periods at the student association will have a first report on Vindicat in June.

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