(NL Times) The former national coordinator for security and counterterrorism (NCTV), Dick Schoof, was not forthcoming about concerns his staff had about a covert program to gather intelligence about mosques operating in the Netherlands, according to new research by NRC. The office of the NCTV paid for municipalities in the country to hire a private investigation firm to carry out undercover operations to dig into local Islamic groups, the newspaper reported based on emails obtained under the Open Government Act.
Schoof was aware of his officials’ concerns by July 2017, who said the program carried a “serious risk of illegality.” They were particularly concerned about municipalities outsourcing the investigation to a private company that basically deputized people to “operate as a kind of intelligence service, something that is not allowed by law, and is also not proportionate.”
