ORANJESTAD – Former POR member of parliament Alan Howell has been sentenced on appeal to 23 months in prison, six of which are suspended, after being convicted of embezzlement and forgery.
The ruling was handed down by the Joint Court of Justice, which found Howell guilty of both offenses. The prison sentence is one month shorter than the sentence requested by the prosecution due to the excessive length of the legal proceedings.
In addition to the prison term, Howell was ordered to pay a fine of 35,000 Aruban florins. The court also ruled that 15,000 florins previously seized during the investigation will be permanently forfeited to the state.
Howell has rejected the court's decision. Immediately after the verdict was announced, he confirmed that he will appeal the case to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands in The Hague through cassation proceedings.
The latest ruling marks another significant development in the long-running criminal case involving the former parliamentarian, although the legal process is expected to continue pending the outcome of the appeal before the Supreme Court.