TU Eindhoven student who gave Hitler salute in lecture has left the Netherlands; prosecution dropped

The Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie, OM) has dropped its case against the student who made racist remarks and performed a Hitler salute during a lecture at TU Eindhoven. The student, an 18-year-old foreign national, has voluntarily left the Netherlands to get mental health care in his home country, prosecutors said on 22 September.

On 16 September, during a first-year electrical engineering lecture, the student allegedly made racist remarks and gave the Nazi salute in a packed lecture hall, according to the university and regional broadcaster Omroep Brabant. Fellow students confronted him, a fight broke out, and university security had to separate the group. The lecture was cancelled. The student initially left the scene but was later arrested on suspicion of making threats (bedreiging). Police also looked at disputed messages and videos he had shared in a group chat with fellow students.

The student turned 18 last week. The OM called him a “vulnerable suspect.” After consultation with the student and his father, a spokesperson said, “we told him that it is best that he leave the country and no longer show himself at TU/e. Then we can ensure there is no more unrest and we do not have to prosecute him.” The case is now geseponeerd — officially closed without a prosecution — and the OM declined to say which country the student is from.

TU Eindhoven called his departure a reassuring development. He had already been barred from campus temporarily. “It is reassuring for our community to know that the student has left the country and that it is not expected that he will return in the short term,” a university spokesperson said. The university had previously said the behaviour was “unacceptable” and promised it would take appropriate measures.

DutchNews.nl also reported on Tuesday that the student chose to leave after speaking with prosecutors and his father. The OM said the decision was partly made so the teenager could receive treatment abroad, and it described him as someone in need of help.

One important legal nuance for non-Dutch readers: the student was arrested for bedreiging, not for the Hitler salute or the racist remarks in themselves. Dutch criminal law has separate provisions for group insult and hate speech, but the OM has discretion to decide which offences to pursue and can set those aside. A seponering does not mean the conduct was lawful — it means prosecutors decided, in this case, not to pursue it.

What does this mean if you are an international student or live in the Netherlands on a residence permit? Criminal prosecution and immigration status run through separate systems. The OM’s decision to drop charges does not automatically affect your residence permit; the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) is the agency that decides on permits, based on factors including criminal convictions. Here, the student left voluntarily, so he is no longer in the Netherlands to make use of his residence status. If you ever find yourself in a situation with police or immigration authorities, get legal help before agreeing to anything — for example from the Juridisch Loket, your university’s legal services, or an immigration lawyer.

Universities also have their own independent powers. TU Eindhoven can still discipline students for violating its code of conduct, regardless of the prosecutor’s decision. The university has not yet said what internal measures, if any, have been taken beyond the temporary campus ban. Students affected by the disruption can contact their study adviser with practical questions about rescheduling and support.