“I am innocent”

“I am innocent,” Romano Meriba told the police last week. Meriba who had gone to the police station with his attorney, Benito Pick, was allowed to leave after he had been questioned. Meriba is puzzled by the accusations against him. He has reportedly been accused of assault and being involved in a drug deal. Meriba made it clear that the rumors that suggest that he is in the Netherlands are not based on the truth. He is studying in Suriname to obtain his HBO diploma. When he heard that charges had been pressed against him, he decided to go to the police. Meriba is also puzzled by the fact that some people are trying to criminalize him. “As a citizen of this country I want to do my part. I do not want to be linked to criminal activities. I do not understand all the fuss about me going to the police because every day so many other people are allowed to leave after having been questioned. Nobody talks about all those others who are allowed to leave. Like every other citizen I want to lead a normal life,” said Meriba who added that he deems it regrettable that the robbery for which he was convicted is mentioned every time. “During the investigation and the trial I stated that I was not involved in that case. I had also presented my alibi to the court. My attorneys, Pick and Raoul Lobo, had asked for an acquittal. Back then I also reported to the police when I heard that my name was being mentioned. I was shocked when they locked me up.”