Rotterdam: Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof will testify as a witness in the criminal trial of a former counterterrorism official accused of leaking state secrets to Morocco, a Dutch court stated. The case involves 65-year-old Ab el M., who was formerly employed at the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV). El M. was apprehended in October 2023 at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport while allegedly attempting to travel to Morocco with multiple data storage devices. According to Anadolu Agency, Schoof, who previously led the NCTV, is expected to testify before the examining magistrate alongside the agency's current chief, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg. Their testimonies will focus on the suspect's responsibilities within the agency and his access to classified information. The hearings will be conducted behind closed doors, excluding the public and media. Prosecutors claim that El M. aimed to deliver sensitive government information to Moroccan intelligence services. He was held in pre-trial deten tion for almost 20 months before being conditionally released earlier this week. The court noted that the decision to release him was made after weighing the prolonged duration of the investigation against his personal circumstances. The court emphasized the gravity of the charges but acknowledged that "the personal interest of the suspect in his release has now come to outweigh the interest in criminal proceedings." El M. has denied the accusations, asserting, "I have not handed over state secret information in any way, to anyone," during a previous hearing. His lawyer explained that El M.'s silence regarding the case stems from a confidentiality oath taken during his tenure at the agency.