The trial against billionaire Bill Gates can proceed. The tycoon argued that the judges did not have jurisdiction, but the court in Leeuwarden ruled otherwise on Wednesday.
A group of citizens has taken several Dutch government officials to court in the north of the Netherlands. Among the defendants are former Prime Minister and current NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, former Minister Hugo de Jonge, Bill Gates, and several members of the Outbreak Management Team, which managed the pandemic response in the Netherlands. The group is seeking compensation, claiming they were deliberately misled into getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
The group asserts that the defendants knew the vaccines would neither be safe nor effective, arguing that fighting the pandemic was not the primary goal.
Because Bill Gates' foundation was involved in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, he was also summoned.
Gates argued that the court in the north of the Netherlands does not have jurisdiction to hear the case against him as an American. The court disagreed, stating that the claims against the defendants are so interconnected that it is appropriate to handle all the claims together. Furthermore, since one of the summoned individuals resides in Friesland, the court in the north of the Netherlands has jurisdiction to hear the case.