Regarding Urban Social Cohesion 2014-2025
Supreme Court of the Netherlands
P.O. Box 20303, 2500 EH The Hague
Tilburg, June 5, 2025
Subject: Urgent Call to Protect Press Freedom and Halt Legal Harassment Against Citizen Journalism
Dear Ms. Dineke de Groot, President of the Supreme Court,
Dear Members of the Supreme Court,
The rule of law and press freedom in the Netherlands are under serious threat due to the systematic legal harassment of citizen journalists. As a whistleblower exposing digital misconduct and administrative abuse since 2020, I have repeatedly faced unlawful detentions, confiscations, and false criminal charges. I urge the Supreme Court to intervene immediately and investigate these structural abuses. Without your action, critical voices like mine risk being silenced, with far-reaching consequences for democratic freedoms in the Netherlands.
Background
Since 2020, I have worked as a citizen journalist to expose digital crimes, administrative misconduct, and regulatory failures, particularly in connection with my advocacy for human and children’s rights. My work has led to:
- Unlawful detention for 30 hours in October 2021, without valid legal grounds;
- Unlawful confiscation of my digital devices in 2021, lacking proportionality or a clear judicial order;
- Forced DNA collection in July 2022, imposed via an intimidating letter;
- Two wrongful prosecutions, where I—as a victim of digital and psychological abuse—received no protection;
- Excessive detention of 103 days in PI Ter Peel (December 2023 – March 2024).
Additionally, since 2021, I have faced systematic harassment in my neighborhood by Diederik Stapel, who—alongside his housemate and a corrupt administrative network tied to former alderman Marcelle Hendrickx—has weaponized false police reports and civil lawsuits to suppress my journalism. This network also shields an Amarant manager engaged in systemic violence and financial fraud, as documented in my reports (see attachments).
Furthermore, the D66 alderman couple, particularly the former alderman, promoted a culture of sexual perversity and hard drug tolerance in public spaces, undermining my human and children’s rights campaigns (see attachments).
The former alderman mocked my handicrafts project (for underprivileged youth) on social media. In 2017, when I visited her office to offer support, she barricaded herself inside. Shockingly, after my sentencing in May 2023, she hosted a “murder dinner” in my neighborhood, posing with her secretary while mimicking my sister and me in a campaign image (“Health: Community Spirit,” Wendell Berry)—brandishing a water gun in a menacing display (see attachments).
These actions reflect a broader culture of social exclusion, which research shows is profoundly damaging. The article “The Social Death Penalty” (Truthout, 2023) describes how ostracism—like what I’ve endured—cuts deeper than bullying, isolating targets and eroding their societal role. A new criminal case against me is set for August 19, 2025, despite evidence of conflicts of interest and my documented victimhood in digital theft, official sabotage, and destruction of police complaint files.
Urgent Requests
I call on the Supreme Court to:
- Establish an independent Levelt Cyber Council to investigate cyberviolence and administrative corruption in digital crimes.
- Send a strong signal that legal harassment of whistleblowers is unacceptable.
- Suspend the June 19, 2025 injunction forcing me to halt my journalism (Local Human Rights Council & Levelt Cyber Council) until conflicts of interest and abuse of power are independently reviewed.
- Demand accountability from judicial officials protecting perpetrators—including the Amarant manager and D66 alderman couple.
- Dismiss the August 19, 2025 case outright, given evident legal abuse, stalking by Marcelle Hendrickx and Diederik Stapel, and the former alderman’s intimidating neighborhood campaigns (2022–2025).
Call to Action
As a whistleblower, I’ve sacrificed my freedom, safety, finances, and health to expose wrongdoing. It is unacceptable that a citizen journalist—who in 2020, on MIND’s advice, filed a police report against her ex-employer for digital crimes—is now entangled in official sabotage, legal intimidation, and social exclusion without protection.
I trust the Supreme Court’s integrity to end these abuses and safeguard whistleblowers. I urge action before June 19, 2025 to prevent further harm to my safety and the democratic legal order.
Sincerely,
Cora Westerink
Alumna, Tilburg University
Founder, Starwink Foundation (art for underprivileged youth, 2007–present)
Chamber of Commerce No. 18087833
Attachments:
- SV 12 Procedure (May 6, 2025)
- Request to Council of State (May 25, 2025)
- Request to NSCR/Forum Standardization (May 31, 2025)
- Complaint Against Prosecutors (June 3, 2025)
Cc: Board of Prosecutors General, Dutch Data Protection Authority, Netherlands Institute for Human Rights, Council for Journalism, Court of Appeals ’s-Hertogenbosch
