Anouar A. and Moreo M. were sentenced on appeal in the Schiphol courtroom to 23 years and 6 months in prison for the murder of Ali Motamed in late 2015 in Almere.
Earlier this month the two were asked for 22 and 24 years in prison respectively. The court spoke of “cold and unscrupulous contract murder”.
Born in Iran, Motamed (56) was killed in the early morning of 15 December 2015 in front of his home on Hendrik Marsmanstraat in Almere with a aimed shot to the head on his way to work.
The perpetrators disappeared without a trace. A. (33) and M. (40) only entered the scene long after the liquidation, when the Criminal Investigation Department gained access to the encrypted communication on the phone of another suspect in the case. Using telecommunication data, car movements and wiretapped conversations, the police were later able to link them to the murder.
The court called the “ease and carelessness” with which the traffic of decrypted messages talked about ending a human life “downright shocking and horrific.” It was “apparently a great opportunity to make money in a relatively risk-free way.”
That Iran was behind the assassination has never been confirmed
Motamed’s violent death has long been a complete mystery. It wasn’t until 2018 that he was actually believed to be Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi. He was sentenced to death in his own country for committing a bloody bomb attack on the Republican Party headquarters in the early 1980s. Dozens of people were killed in that attack, including leaders of the Iranian regime.
The suspicion that Motamed’s possible political background played a role in his death has never been confirmed. While the AIVD has strong indications that Iran played a role in the liquidation, this has never been established in the criminal case against the killers. The question still plays a prominent role in the appeal of Naoufal F., already sentenced to life imprisonment for directing the murder of Motamed. His appeal will be filed later.
In 2019, A. and M. were sentenced to 20 and 25 years in prison by the Lelystad court. Both have always denied.
