B. is also a suspect in the Marengo trial. He would initially go to prison for 24 years for his part in various liquidations. The OM agreed with him that it would demand ten years in prison against him, in exchange for his statements about Ridouan Taghi, among others. In practice, the prison sentence amounts to eight years in prison.
The defense of B., lawyers Onno de Jong and Peter Schouten, believe that B. should be released this fall. He will then be imprisoned for 6.5 years.
The reason for the reduced sentence is the way in which the Public Prosecution Service protected B.’s relatives and friends. De Jong and Schouten argued extensively on Friday how the Public Prosecution Service allegedly failed to take appropriate security measures. They became the target of the organization around Taghi “to be able to hit him and to silence him as a witness”, according to the counsel.
Protection only started when Nabil’s brother Reduan was murdered in March 2018. That happened shortly after the crown witness deal became known. Schouten: “And even after that, the government proved insufficiently alert and resilient and two more victims fell.”
Schouten is referring to the murders of lawyer Derk Wiersum and crime journalist Peter R. de Vries, who assisted B. as a confidant. In those cases, suspects of execution have been arrested and brought before the court. Many assume that Taghi is behind the murders, but that is not yet officially established.
B. would have been ignored by the Public Prosecution Service
Schouten and De Jong believe that not enough has been listened to their star witness. “He was ignored by the Public Prosecution Service when it came to the safety of those around him.” The OM would have exhibited “bullying behavior” “because Nabil did not give up and fought for the safety of his family and relatives,” the counselors said.
“With every liquidation he was thrown back to the pain and a sense of guilt,” Schouten said about B. He was also struck by “impotence”, isolated in his cell. This was because he constantly warned of the danger of revenge that people close to him could fall victim to. The Public Prosecution Service treated that danger with “carelessness and self-will”.
The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) is investigating the security issues surrounding Reduan, Wiersum and De Vries. According to Schouten and De Jong, the results are expected in March. They want to add the OVV report to their plea.
