The Dutch royal family has apologised to a radio DJ and three of his friends after their car was stopped at gunpoint between Amsterdam and Antwerp and they were forced to kneel on the roadside – in the mistaken belief that they had been following the heir to throne, Princess Amalia.
The incident, after which the four were handcuffed and taken to an Antwerp police station for questioning, happened on August 2nd. It was disclosed on Thursday when their lawyer demanded an apology, claiming they had been victims of “racial profiling”.
During their questioning it emerged that the men were stopped after an alert to Belgian police from the Dutch royal protection service that the exact route and succession of motorway exits taken by Amalia’s car was being followed – unwittingly, as it turned out – by the four friends in their rental car.
Since 2022, Princess Amalia (20) has lived with intense security and surveillance because of what were regarded as credible threats by people operating in the drugs underworld to kidnap her. She spent a period living in Spain and abandoned plans to share a house with fellow students at Amsterdam university.
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Amsterdam lawyer Vito Shukrula, representing the driver, DJ Serginio Piquē, said the Belgian police had been informed by their Dutch counterparts that the four were “potentially dangerous” – and so they were suddenly hemmed in by several cars and confronted by armed officers in balaclavas.
“There are very few logical routes from Amsterdam to Antwerp but they took the most logical that the navigation system in their car offered them,” the lawyer said.
“They had no idea they were anywhere near Amalia. They never saw her. They did not know what car she was driving. The road was busy as usual and there were lots of other cars that were not stopped. Ethnic profiling must have played a role in the police decision.”
Although the Belgian police released the four, confirming they were blameless, they stood by their actions. “It was a live situation involving the crown princess and we had to take it seriously,” a spokesperson said.
Mr Shukrula, however, described the Belgian response as “disproportionate”. He said it was his understanding that they had been “upset” at receiving misleading information from the Dutch – which then led them to mount a significant operation.
Mr Piquē said he understood that Princess Amalia had to be kept safe – but he said safety should not be at the expense of innocent bystanders.
The royal household responded rapidly to the story on Friday, apologising to Mr Piquē and friends.
The apology came in the form of a brief phone call from the state information service on behalf of the royal family.
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