Criminal investigation

SLOW RESPONSE TO BERLIN TERROR SUSPECT ANGERS DUTCH MPS

The Dutch prosecutor's office, OM, waited about four days to notify the cabinet that the man suspected of carrying out a terrorist attack in Berlin also spent time in the Netherlands after the incident. Dutch authorities ultimately notified Minister Ard van der Steur (Security and Justice) that the suspect, Anis Amri, traveled through the Netherlands, Van der Steur said in answer to parliamentary questions on Thursday.

Opposition parties were angered by the delay in notifying the cabinet minister, calling it an apparent lack of urgency among the Dutch authorities.

Amri is believed to be the person who drove a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin on December 19th. A SIM card found in his backpack after he was gunned down by Italian police in Milan led the Italian authorities to believe that he traveled through the Netherlands on his escape from Germany. The Vodafone SIM card was handed out for free in Zwolle, Breda and Nijmegen between December 20th and 22nd..