On Wednesday 8 September 2020 Mr. Basim Razzo and the Dutch Minister of Defense (Bijleveld) came to an agreement about the amount in damages that the State of the Netherlands would pay to Razzo. In September 2015, Dutch F16's bombed his home in Mosul and the adjacent home of his brother. Razzo lost his wife, daughter, brother and nephew in that bombardment; he himself was seriously injured and suffers from chronic health problems as a result of the bombardment. The bombardment took place on the basis of incorrect intel, as the Dutch State has since acknowledged.
Razzo sent the State a notification of liability in March of this year. The State does not accept liability, but will compensate him. In that respect, the Minister of Defense has indicated that it is a 'voluntary compensation in light of the enormity of the human suffering that has been inflicted upon Mr. Razzo'. In the interest of his safety and that of his family, no comments will be made about the amount in damages Razzo will receive. He is very pleased with the outcome and is happy that the Netherlands was quick to offer him compensation. This will allow him to close this case and get back to his life.
Aside from compensation, the State has also drawn up a letter upon Razzo's request in which his name is cleared. In the letter, the State writes that it has no information that connects Razzo and/or his relatives to IS.
Razzo was represented in this case by lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld. She too was very surprised that the State is so quick to compensate her client for his loss.
See also (in Dutch and English)
- J. Schipper & K. Versteegh, 'Hoge schadevergoeding voor burgerslachtoffer Nederlandse luchtaanval', NRC d.d. 8 september 2020
- O. van Joolen & S. van Schoonhoven, 'Emotionele Irakees Razzo ’zeer tevreden’ met hoge schadevergoeding na vergisbom', 8 september 2020
- D. Boffey, 'Mosul civilian first to be compensated for mistaken coalition bombing', The Guardian d.d. 9 september 2020
- S. 't Sas, 'Nederland betaalt hoge schadevergoeding aan Basim die zijn gezin verloor door fout bombardement in Mosul', 9 september 2020
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