Rob Engelar
News from the NOS•
More than one hundred criminal defense lawyers who have expressed in a fire letter their concerns about new investigative methods by the Public Prosecutor (OM). The prosecutor would not be open about the method of seizing, intercepting and hacking encrypted communication services.
As a result, the right to a fair trial and the right to privacy are at stake, the lawyers write. Meanwhile, decrypted messages play a key role in countless criminal cases. They range from relatively small cases to the Ridouan Taghi trial.
The lawyers say they support “the social benefit of new and advanced investigative methods”, but at the moment there is a lack of transparency about this, according to them.
As a result, the lawyers say they are unable to adequately verify whether the evidence was obtained legally and whether it is reliable. The judges would systematically reject such requests.
“This is pressing”, the lawyers write, “because in the meantime strong and factual indications have emerged that fundamental human rights have been violated or are in danger of being violated”.
‘Border reached’
Normally, lawyers claim to rule only on individual cases. But now “a limit has been reached”, they write. “The social importance of a good administration of justice is simply too great.”
A spokesperson for the Prosecutor’s Office says so in response against Trouw to know the allegations in the letter. “To date, the use of cryptodates in criminal proceedings has been found lawful by successive judges, following the OM.” He declined to comment further on the matter.
