Vereniging Martijn (; "Martijn Association"; stylized as MARTIJN) was a Dutch association that
advocated the societal acceptance of pedophilia and legalization of sexual relationships between adults and children.
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]
Establishment
The organization began in 1984. It claimed to fight for "the social and societal acceptance of child-adult relationships", emphasising what they called the "consent of both child and adult" and the "freedom for the child to withdraw from the relationship". It claimed to be in favour of "objective, scientifically verifiable truth and against political terror and discrimination."
''OK Magazine''
From 1986 until 2006 the group published ''OK Magazine'', available only through the mail and not in shops, featuring essays, letters, interviews and photographs of scantily clad or naked children, mostly boys.
Opposition
MARTIJN was expelled from the International Lesbian and Gay Association
The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) is an organization who is committed to advancing human rights to all people, disregarding gender identity, sex characteristics and expression. ILGA participates in a ...
in 1994. The group was seen as "widely reviled" though Dutch prosecutors initially formed the view that it could not be prosecuted.
In 2003 Vereniging MARTIJN faced opposition by the ''Actiecomité Stop MARTIJN'' (Action Committee Stop MARTIJN), which organized demonstrations against them. Formed and led by Michiel Smit
Michiel Smit (born 21 August 1976) is a former Dutch politician who was leader of Nieuw Rechts, a far-right political party.
Political office
Michiel Smit was elected to the Rotterdam city council in 2002 as a member of Leefbaar Rotterdam. In F ...
of the New Right
New Right is a term for various right-wing political groups or policies in different countries during different periods. One prominent usage was to describe the emergence of certain Eastern European parties after the collapse of the Soviet Uni ...
, Florens van der Kooi of the NNP, as well as Inge Bleecke of ''Moeders tegen Pedofilie'' (Mothers against Pedophilia), the committee was labelled as extreme right by their opponents.
Photographs of Princess Amalia
The organization was in the news in October 2007 when it was learned that photographs of Princess Catharina-Amalia (then aged 3½), daughter of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born ) is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013.
Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht as the oldest child of Princess Beatri ...
(now King) and his wife Princess Maxima (now Queen), were on display on the website's forum. The Prince went to court to request a €50,000 fine and the removal of the photos from the website. The court agreed that the photos must be removed, and imposed a fine of €5,000 to be paid every time photos of children of the royal family are placed on the site again. The organisation had to pay €1,235 in costs.
Police investigations
The home of the organization's president, Ad van den Berg, was raided by police in October 2010; downloads of illegal material had been traced back to Van den Berg's internet connection. It was announced in March 2011 that large quantities of child pornography
Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...
were found among the confiscated material, and even more material, including computers, was confiscated when Van den Berg was arrested on 29 March. In October 2018 he was convicted of possession of child pornography, and sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Suspects in the Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
sex case, an investigation into the abuse of tens of children in Amsterdam kindergartens, were members of MARTIJN.
Priests' involvement
On 20 May 2011 Herman Spronck, the head of the Dutch arm of the Salesian
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, image_size = 150px
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, abbreviation = SDB
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, founder = John Bosco
, founding_location = Valdocco, Turin ...
Catholic order, confirmed to RTL Nieuws
RTL Nieuws is a Dutch television news service produced by RTL Nederland. The national and international news service produces 17 bulletins each weekday and six weekend bulletins for RTL4 and RTL Z, reaching a total audience of about 1.5 million pe ...
that a priest under him had been on the board of MARTIJN until the Van den Berg raids. He added, "Of course we reject this and distance ourselves from this personal initiative." RTL obtained interviews both with Spronck and the priest (73-year-old "Father Van B.") in which the two defended adult-child sex as not always damaging. The priest concerned had prior convictions for child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
. The provincial for the Salesians, Jos Claes, opened disciplinary procedures against Spronck.
Disbandment
On 18 June 2011, the Ministry of Security and Justice announced that the association's activities were not illegal. Crimes committed by its members could not be attributed to the association and as such the organisation could not be prosecuted, banned or disbanded.
On 27 June 2012, a Dutch court in Assen
Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...
ruled that the group was illegal and ordered the group to cease activities and disband immediately. The judge stated that the group's actions and statements regarding sexual contact between adults and children were in conflict with the accepted norms and values of Dutch society. In his statement, the judge emphasised the overriding need to protect children. However, in April 2013, a higher court overturned this decision, upholding the Martijn club's right to freedom of association
Freedom of association encompasses both an individual's right to join or leave groups voluntarily, the right of the group to take collective action to pursue the interests of its members, and the right of an association to accept or decline membe ...
. On 18 April 2014 the Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
overturned the acquittal and reinstated the trial judge's order. In 2015, an appeal by the association to the European Court for Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a c ...
(ECHR) was rejected.
See also
*Edward Brongersma
Edward Brongersma (31 August 1911 in Haarlem, Netherlands – 22 April 1998 in Bloemendaal/ Overveen, Netherlands) was a Dutch politician and doctor of law. For a number of years he was a member of the Dutch Senate for the Labour Party, an ...
* Dutch Society for Sexual Reform
*Party for Neighbourly Love, Freedom, and Diversity
The Party for Neighbourly Love, Freedom, and Diversity or The Charity, Freedom and Diversity Party (''Partij voor Naastenliefde, Vrijheid en Diversiteit'', PNVD) was a Dutch political party with no representation in parliament, and only three k ...
*NAMBLA
Nambla is a census village in Baramula district, Jammu & Kashmir, India.
As per the 2011 Census of India
The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House ...
*Joop Wilhelmus
Johannes Cornelis Christiaan "Joop" Wilhelmus (7 January 1943 – 9 September 1994) was a Dutch pornographer and entrepreneur, known for co-founding and publishing pornographic magazine ''Chick'', founding and publishing child pornography magaz ...
*List of pedophile and pederast advocacy organizations
This is a list of current and former pedophile advocacy groups that support child sexual abuse.
Organizations by country International
* ''Ipce'' (formerly ''International Pedophile and Child Emancipation''; changed its name in 1998 for public ...
References
{{Authority control
Pedophile advocacy
Organizations established in 1982
Organizations disestablished in 2014
1982 establishments in the Netherlands
2014 disestablishments in the Netherlands