Summary: The reckless attack on EPO staff continues, as yet another person in Rijswijk gets subjected to a 'raid' by the "gestapo" [1, 2] of Benoît Battistelli and Željko Topić

SUEPO, the staff union of the EPO, was recently weakened (resignations), Battistelli took further steps against it, and the press in Germany is conveniently not paying attention, quite frankly as usual. Battistelli's guards and his goons were recently promoted and they seem to be emboldened by a Dutch court reaffirming that they are essentially above the law (not even rape or murder by EPO management seems likely to change that).

"One person in Rijswijk," a source told us yesterday, "was removed from his office by the EPO's Investigative Unit (IU). A group of several people, including members of HR, IU, security staff and others unexpectedly came to his office. Security staff then guided him off the EPO premises. His office was sealed, an investigation is running."

We don't know who their target was this time around, but these mortifying experiences, based on past stories, can result in severe consequences even when -- and especially if -- the target is innocent. Battistelli obviously wants a war on the unions and he wants to crush anything which he merely suspects can provoke dissent. He's no better than Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan; he just need a mustache added.

We've asked around for further information about it and were unable to find out much more at this point. "I do not hope that it is a SUEPO Committee Member," one person told us, "as they risk a lot right know. Only a handful is left anyway."

Staff in Munich has to some degree been 'decapitated' (not in the guillotines sense) and now Battistelli goes after the Dutch (even French staff), knowing that Dutch politicians are incapable of doing much. We recently wrote about this in the following articles:

• Battistelli is an Autocrat Above the Law and It's OK, Holland's High Council Says
• EPO Abuses Now Make the Netherlands Look Like a Facilitator of Human/Labour Rights Abuses
• Media Blasts EPO Over Immunity Amid Suicides, Battistelli's Behaviour Compared to Dominique Strauss-Kahn's
• Leaked: Team Battistelli, Exploiting a Controversial Decision From the Netherlands, is Trying to Squash SUEPO
• The EPO's Freedom to Disregard the Law and Abuse Employees is “Being Taken up by the Council of Europe”
• The Netherlands With Its Bizarre Decision to Let the EPO Violate Dutch Law, Now in English

We might soon find out more about the latest 'case' (union-busting effort a likely possibility) and we shall continue to protest against EPO management being above the law, breaking rules whenever it suits the thug, Battistelli.

Here is a new comment from IP Kat:

Flabbergasted and hugely disappointed (but, on reflection, not that surprised) by the Dutch decision.

What puzzles me, however, is the reasoning for dismissing SUEPO's case: "Insofar as VEOB et al. have based their claims in these proceedings on the right of collective negotiation, these fail because VEOB et al. – considering the reasoned challenge to these by EPOrg, partly on the basis of the legal precedents of ILOAT as cited in the court documents – have been unable to argue sufficiently that the staff representatives have inadequate possibilities to challenge that right with ILOAT".

It is clear that the Dutch court has (conveniently!) overlooked ILO-AT's judgement 1542, which stated that: “a complaint is receivable only if it is about an individual official’s status as an employee of the organisation, not about the collective interests of trade unionists".

This leaves a huge gap between the rights that should be afforded under Art. 11 ECHR and those that can properly be the subject of a complaint to ILO-AT. The Dutch court's attempts to gloss over this point are particularly unconvincing... but not surprising given the interests of the Netherlands in not "rocking the boat" for the many international organisations that are located in that territory.

Next stop Strasbourg!

Well, Battistelli's right-hand man already face corruption indictments in Strasbourg. Maybe he and Battistelli can book plane tickets together, just as they recently did in their journey to Croatia, where Battistelli's right-hand man faces many criminal charges.

The arguably criminal element that permeates and persists at the EPO does a huge disservice to the reputation of Europe, not just the EPO's. ⬆