Government violated fundamental rights with secret investigation into Muslims
Today, a Dutch Court ruled against a secret investigation method conducted by the Dutch government. Financed by the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV), Muslim communities were investigated by a private company, while the investigators did not identify themselves as such. The Court ruled today that this investigation method violates fundamental rights and is therefore unlawful.
The case was brought by the Taubah mosque against the municipality of Veenendaal, one of the municipalities conducting these investigations.
What happened before?
In 2016, the NCTV launched a programme to secretly gather information about Muslim communities in Dutch municipalities. Research agency NTA was hired to carry out the investigations. The municipality of Veenendaal commissioned NTA to secretly investigate the local Islamic community. A dozen other municipalities also commissioned NTA to conduct investigations. These secret investigations came to light at the end of 2021 through publications by NRC, which led to great indignation. In Veenendaal, the local Taubah mosque demanded apologies and transparency. When these were not forthcoming, the mosque took the matter to court.
The Court ruling
The Court stated that by means of the investigation, the municipality had actually entered into the private domain of the mosque. The Court finds that this made Taubah, as a foundation, subject of the NTA investigation. Taubah is therefore entitled to invoke article 8 ECHR. Because there had been no adversarial process, of persons within Taubah’s community, and the municipality did not supervise the investigation, there is also a violation of article 8 ECHR.
The Court concludes that the municipality did not act in accordance with the law. This is because there was no legal basis for the investigation and the decision was not made by an authorized body. For this reason alone, there was unauthorized interference within the meaning of article 8 of the ECHR. This is unlawful towards Taubah and her community.
Bilal Riani, director of the Taubah mosque is happy with the ruling: “Despite repeated denials by the municipality, the Court has finally determined that there conduct of the municipality was indeed unlawful. That is an important recognition for us.”
Why is this ruling relevant?
This ruling draws a clear line for situations in which government intends to gather information about citizens. Although the government may be authorized to conduct research, it must always do so within the law. The Court states: “That municipalities have the task of monitoring public order and safety is not in dispute. But: the exercise of powers on that basis does require legal authority. The alternative is undesirable and unthinkable in a democratic society, because it would mean that the State (in the broadest sense of the word) could intervene arbitrarily in the rights of its subjects.”
In other words, the government cannot simply spy on its own citizens. The secret collection of information violates personal privacy, especially when it takes place within the private setting of a mosque. Such investigations can only be carried out if there is a solid legal basis for doing so. A legal basis which the municipality does not have.
The ruling is therefore not only important for the Taubah mosque and the other mosques investigated, but for society as a whole: no one should be investigated by the government in this way in the future.
Victory
For the Taubah mosque, the ruling marks an important victory. The secret investigation has had a major impact on the mosque and its community. Bilal Riani: “The mosque is a sacred place. The fact that this place was secretly investigated has created a feeling of insecurity and a great deal of mistrust towards the municipality. This has affected us deeply. Our relationship of trust with the municipality has been seriously damaged by the investigation.”
Abdelsadek Maas, chairman of the SIORH mosque umbrella organisation, adds: “This ruling is in the interests of the wider Muslim community. Muslims are increasingly viewed with suspicion. Fortunately, it has now been established that such secret investigations are unlawful. Because such investigations must never be allowed to take place again in the future.”
The Court’s ruling does not stand alone. In February 2025, the District Court of The Hague already ruled that the municipality of Delft had to disclose the secret investigation into the mosque because it was sufficiently plausible that fundamental rights had been violated. In February 2025, the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area Ombudsman wrote a damning report on a similar investigation in the municipality of Almere. Recently, the Dutch Data Protection Authority also concluded that similar investigations commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment were ‘illegal and discriminatory’.
The full ruling can be read (in Dutch) through the following link.
See this page for more information about the case.
