Gerard Spong
(Paramaribo, 1946) is regarded as one of the best criminal lawyers in the Netherlands, often delivering fierce criticism on Dutch society. I want to make people realise that they're living in a narrow-minded country,' he once said in an interview with Intermediair. Spong established himself in 1976 as a criminal lawyer in The Hague, and later in Amsterdam. As early as 1978 he drew the attention of the media with the epoch-making case against three members of the Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Faction) who were imprisoned in the Netherlands. He denounced the media after the death of Pim Fortuyn and tried to get Geert Wilders in the witness box. Spong likes to keep people on the alert with crisp remarks. Thus he said that he'd much wanted to bring charges against queen Beatrix for meeting Robert Mugabe. Spong is opposed to a middle-class mentality, which he claims is the product of social pressure and oppression. 'I can't accept that. Because a middle-class mentality eventually paves the way to social aggression.'
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Archive available for: Gerard Spong
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Kevin Dutton, Gerard Spong and Antoine de Kom: The Wisdom of Psychopaths
With: Antoine de Kom, Gerard Spong, Kevin Dutton
Dr Kevin Dutton wrote The wisdom of psychopaths, how psychopathic traits can lead to success in many professional fields. Dutton will exchange thoughts on the subject with renowned Dutch lawyer Gerard Spong. Chaired by poet, writer and forensic psychiatrist Antoine de Kom. In English.
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In search for the Golden Rule I: the Dutch and rules
In the search for the Golden Rule the first question that comes up is: what is our relationship with rules? In 1962 teenager Gerard Spong came from Surinam to the Netherlands. It was the beginning of a decade in which our country would change deeply in character. Religious rules, rules of life, sexual rules; everything was under review to make place for a new generation of those who tolerated and of fortune hunters. Young Spong saw it all happening and decided to study law; the profession preeminently dealing with rules. Eventually he became one of the most successful criminal law attorneys in the Netherlands. Now, looking back, he takes stock; how do the Dutch relate to rules? Have things run their course and are we experiencing the comeback of strict legislation? Or is there an element of truth in the myth that the Dutch won't be told what to do? After Spong's account writer Bas Heijne will talk with him. In Dutch
