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Dutchman appeals after decade in Spanish jail as DNA implicates Brit

A Dutch man who has spent ten years in jail for rape has finally had his appeal accepted by Spain's Supreme Court, after new DNA evidence implicated a British suspect.

Published: 19 November 2015 09:22 CET

Dutchman appeals after decade in Spanish jail as DNA implicates Brit

Archive photo: Shutterstock

Police arrested Romano Liberto van der Dussen in September 2003 in the resort town of Fuengirola on Spain's Costa del Sol, accusing him of beating and trying to rape three women.

A court in Malaga in 2005 sentenced him to 15-and-a-half years in jail for sexual assault, attempted rape, causing injuries and violent robbery after two of the victims and a witness watching from a window all identified him as the culprit.

Van der Dussen, who was 30 years old and living in Spain when he was arrested, has always maintained his innocence and his DNA was never matched to that found at the scene.

Legarra Sara Romano Liberto van der Dussen lleva 4.268 días y sus noches atormentado por la palabra violador. Le… http://t.co/vwHESBl41w

— Rolando Olivera (@tacitadeoro) May 11, 2015

Van der Dussen on the left and Mark Dixie on the right

A courthouse in Fuengirola in February received a British police report that showed the DNA found at the scene of the attacks matches a genetic sample taken from a British man, Mark Dixie, who was living in southern Spain at the time.

Dixie is currently serving a 34-year jail sentence in Britain for the rape and murder of an 18-year-old model in London in 2005.

Spain's Supreme Court said the appeal included the DNA evidence “and as a consequence, it meets the criteria to be accepted”.

The ruling was dated November 12th, but was only made public on Wednesday.

Van der Dussen's case made headlines in Spain as well as the Netherlands, where a foundation which supports Dutch prisoners abroad, PrisonLaw, has raised thousands of euros to pay for his legal aid.

“I have been in jail for over 11 years for crimes I did not commit. I have been through an indescribable hell,” he said in an interview published in May in top-selling Spanish daily newspaper El Pais.

“During this time I have seen people get stabbed, others commit suicide, others get raped over unpaid debts…All of this has caused me irreparable damage,” he added.

'Pedro stay!': Thousands of Spanish PM's supporters take to the streets

The 52-year-old, who has been in office since 2018, stunned Spain on Wednesday when he put his resignation on the line after a Madrid court opened a preliminary investigation into suspected influence peddling and corruption against his spouse Begona Gomez.

Sanchez said he would suspend all public duties until he announces his decision on Monday. The normally hyperactive premier has since remained out of sight and silent.

“I need to stop and think whether I should continue to head the government or whether I should give up this honour,” he wrote in a four-page letter posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Supporters on Saturday held up placards saying “Spain needs you”, “Pedro don’t abandon us’, and shouted slogans such as “Pedro leader”.

“I hope that Sanchez will say on Monday that he will stay,” said Sara Domínguez, a consultant in her 30’s, adding that his government had “taken good steps for women, the LGBT community and minorities”.

Jose María Diez, a 44-year-old government official who came from Valladolid in northern Spain to express his support, said there was a real possibility that the far-right could take power if Sanchez quit.

“This will mean a step backwards for our rights and liberties,” he warned.

Inside the party headquarters, there were similar passionate appeals.

‘Pedro stay’

“Pedro stay. We are together and together we can … take the country forward, Spain can’t step back,” said Budget Minister Maria Jesus Montero, the government number two.

“Today all democrats, all progressives, are summoned to Madrid against a pack whose only aim is to overthrow a democratic and legitimate government,” said Felix Bolanos, Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Parliamentary Relations.

At one point, Socialist leaders took to the streets to thank those gathered. “They won’t succeed,” government spokeswoman Pilar Alegria told the crowd.

The court opened the investigation into Sanchez’s wife in response to a complaint from anti-corruption pressure group Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), whose leader is linked to the far right.

The group, which has presented a litany of unsuccessful lawsuits against politicians in the past, said on Wednesday its complaint was based on media reports and could not vouch for their veracity.

While the court did not give details of the case, online news site El Confidencial said it focused on links Gomez had to Spanish tourism group Globalia when carrier Air Europa was in talks with the government to secure a huge bailout.

The airline sought the bailout after it was badly hit by plunging paseenger numbers during the Covid-19 crisis.

At the time, Gomez was running IE Africa Centre, a foundation linked to Madrid’s Instituto de Empresa (IE) business school, which had signed a sponsorship agreement with Globalia in 2020.

Spain’s public prosecutors office on Thursday requested the dismissal of the investigation, which Sanchez said was part of a campaign of “harassment” against him and his wife waged by “media heavily influenced by the right and far right”.

If Sanchez decides to remain in office, he could choose to file a confidence motion in parliament to show that he and his minority government are still supported by a majority of lawmakers.

If he resigns, an early election could be called from July — a year after the last one — with or without Sanchez at the helm of the Socialist party.

The right-wing opposition has accused the prime minister of being irresponsible for putting the country on hold while he mulls his decision.

“It’s very clear to us that this is all a tactic… We know Pedro Sanchez and things with him always turn out like a soap opera,” Cuca Gamarra, the number two of the main opposition conservative Popular Party, said on Friday.

“He is making us all wait and the country is at a standstill,” she added.

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