40-year-old Colombian Juan RP was held for a time for the murder, but the prosecution is not convinced of his guilt. He himself stated that although he was involved in the drug deal, he did not know about the murders. “I absolutely cannot dismiss his statement as nonsensical,” said the public prosecutor Friday in the court in The Hague. He therefore asks for acquittal for the murder.
For his involvement in the drug deal, a batch had to be delivered to Australia, he demands a sentence equal to the time RP was in custody: 184 days. “And that is the end of it for me.”
Possible scenario
One possible scenario is that RP acted as a middleman, between a number of Australians who ordered drugs and paid half a million euros for them and a group of Colombians who would deliver but did not. Both parties are said to have agreed in the Netherlands to clarify the failed transaction. And it is therefore not clear whether RP has anything to do with the murders, or whether he himself escaped death.
RP was not present at the hearing of his case on Friday. He lives in Spain. Due to travel restrictions surrounding the corona virus, it was not possible for him to be here, his lawyer said.
The long-running case would actually already be dealt with substantively in 2018, but the Public Prosecution Service has made an ultimate attempt to finalize the case. In vain.
The court will rule on November 6.
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