Visser v. The Netherlands, (26668/95) [2002] ECHR 108(14 February 2002)
The text of this case can be found on the
European Court of Human Rights' HUDOC database.
Facts: The applicant is charged with
kidnapping and assault on Mr A. He is convicted for having deprived Mr A. of
his liberty and sentenced to one year’s imprisonment. The Court based its
decision on, among other evidence, the anonymous witness’s statement before the
investigating judge. The applicant appealed unsuccessfully.
Allegations: The applicant complained
that the use of the anonymous witness’s statement was in breach of Article 6 §§
1 and 3 (d) (right to a fair trial).
Held: the proceedings as a whole were not fair and that there had, accordingly, been a violation of Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (d) of the Convention.
Reasoning: the Court observed that the witness had told the
investigating judge that s/he did not know the applicant but was afraid of
reprisals because one of the applicant’s co-accused had a reputation for being
violent and because the offence in itself concerned an act of revenge. The
investigating judge concluded that the witness had good reasons to be fearful,
and that the anonymous witness was reliable. The Court found this finding
insufficient to permit reliance on an anonymous witness. It also found that the
conviction was based to a decisive extent on the anonymous testimony. That left
undecided whether anonymous testimony could be a decisive factor supporting a
conviction if the Netherlands' courts found the witness was both very reliable
and very afraid.
