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Interest of JusticeThe Leeuwarden Files

IOJ MEDIA REPORTING · CASE C/17/190788 · DISTRICT COURT OF THE NORTHERN NETHERLANDS · LEEUWARDEN

The Leeuwarden Files

  1. The caseSeven Dutch citizens are suing Bill Gates, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, Mark Rutte, the Dutch State and thirteen others, personally. They say they were misled into Covid-19 injections the defendants knew or should have known weren't safe. Every defendant denies it.
  2. Where it standsThe court heard the case in public on 22 October 2026, five hours before three judges.
  3. What's nextThe judgment is due between 9 December 2026 and the end of February 2027. The court will send it to IoJ the moment it's ready, and IoJ will release it to the public as soon as it arrives.
Start here, in 8 stepsOpen the timeline

Every document to download, in English and the Dutch original, plus the videos, the expert testimony and the hearings, in date order.

59 moments on the record · 102 documents · 17 defendants · the full hearing, all in English

First page of The summons · 14 July 2023The summons · 14 July 2023First page of Interim judgment · 5 Feb 2025Interim judgment · 5 Feb 2025First page of The hearing in English · 22 Oct 2026The hearing in English · 22 Oct 2026

New here

Start here, in 8 steps

About twelve minutes, from who is suing whom to what the judges must now decide, with the real documents and moments from court at every step.

  1. 01The case in 90 seconds
  2. 02Who is suing whom
  3. 03The core claim
  4. 04Round one
  5. 05The defence, in their own words
  6. 06The fight over the experts
  7. 07The hearing, 22 October 2026
  8. 08What happens next

Begin step 1 →

Who's in this case

Seven Dutch citizens against seventeen of the most powerful names in the pandemic

Sued personally

Bill GatesMicrosoft co-founderAlbert BourlaCEO, PfizerMark RuttePrime Minister, now NATO
Ite HofstraJaap van DisselMarion KoopmansSigrid KaagHugo de JongeErnst KuipersDiederik GommersWopke HoekstraCora van NieuwenhuizenGiselle van CannPaul JansenFeike SijbesmaAgnes KantThe State of the NetherlandsAll seventeen ↓

In court · 22 October 2026

Peter Stassen pleading for the claimants
Peter StassenLawyer for the seven claimants
The presiding judge
The presiding judgeOne of three judges who will decide
In memory

Two of the seven claimants died before their case was heard, Mr De Vries and Mrs Tieken. At the 22 October hearing the presiding judge named them in court so they would be remembered there.

The three judges on the bench at the 22 October 2026 hearing in Leeuwarden
The bench at Leeuwarden, 22 October 2026. Stills from the court's public livestream, carried by IoJ with English translation.

The library

Every document, on its shelf

Rulings, filings, the defence, the expert evidence, hearings and press, each with a thirty-second summary on top and the full document one tap away.

Court rulings & ordersWhat the judges decided, and the letters that set the rules of the fight.18 documentsThe claimants' filingsThe summons and everything the seven filed after it.17 documentsThe defenceWhat the State, Gates, Bourla, the journalists and Lareb's director say back, in their own words.13 documentsExpert & witness evidenceThe statements filed for the claimants by Latypova, Yeadon, Sansone for Boyle, Fitts and Watt.5 documentsHearings & transcriptsEvery hearing in the case — the evidence request, Amsterdam, and 22 October.3 documentsPress & statementsPress releases and public statements around the case.3 documentsThe exhibitsThe evidence the claimants filed, with private details protected.ExhibitsVideosExpert testimony, the hearings and IoJ coverage.Videos

The defendants

Seventeen names. Tap one.

The timeline then shows only the documents that name them. IoJ doesn't name the living claimants in its own summaries. The original court documents are shown as filed.

The record · July 2023 to today

The red line

Every filing, ruling, letter and hearing, oldest first. Tap any one to open it — what it's about in thirty seconds, its key passages underlined in red, and links to read or download it in English and in Dutch.

Before you read · the law in five linesWhat the seven have to prove

This is a civil lawsuit, not a criminal case. Nobody has been charged. The claimants ask the court to declare that the defendants acted unlawfully, as a group, and owe them for it. The burden of proof is theirs.

6:162

The unlawful act

Violate a right, break a law, or breach the unwritten duty of care, and you owe for the harm.

6:166

The group

Act as a group and every member can be made to pay, even if no one can say whose act did it.

6:106

The suffering

Damages for fear, grief and suffering, where the law allows them.

Art. 7

The anchor

Power over one defendant at home lets the court join the others, if the claims are tied closely enough.

Art. 150

The burden

Whoever claims it, proves it. Here, the burden is on the seven.

22 October 2026 · five hours · three judges

The hearing, in English, line by line

IoJ carried the court's livestream with real-time English translation, with the court's permission. The full transcript is searchable by word and by speaker, and every turn jumps to its moment in the replay.

1:31:22

The claimants' plea · Peter Stassen

Honourable court... ...Madam President. COVID-19... ...is not a disease... ...but a project. And that project is known... ...by the name COVID-19...…

2:08:56

The Dutch State answers

Madam President, honourable members of the court, Madam Clerk [unclear: 'mevrouw de G4']. In the spring of 2020 the Netherlands, like the rest of the…

2:32:19

For Bill Gates

A great deal has already been said and written in this case. The parties have been given the opportunity to put forward their positions in no fewer…

3:34:30

The claimants in their own words

Yes, I can certainly say something about that. Yes, I don't feel optimal at…

4:57:17

When to expect the judgment

May I make one more point of order? Also for clarity, I am no longer in a position to. Of course the defendant parties have had the last word. A…

Open the full transcript →

The film · 37 minutes

Can they win?

What Dutch law makes the claimants prove, where their case is strongest, where it is weakest, and what the defendants say back. Jump to any part; it keeps playing in the corner while you read.

Short on time? The 9-minute explainer ↗

Keep this library open

Free to read, for good. Not free for IoJ to host.

Every document here was gathered, translated and checked by hand, and the whole record stays online for history, whatever happens to other sites. Interest of Justice is reader-funded, with no corporate or pharmaceutical money. If this library helped you, help keep it open.

Keep it openFollow to the judgment

The IoJ Legal Fund

It's our pleasure to bring you this case in English

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