ANP
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NOS News•today, 06:00
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The Public Prosecution Service announced today what punishment is being demanded against Ridouan Taghi and a large number of co-defendants in the Marengo trial. The key figures face long prison sentences.
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Earlier this month, the Public Prosecution Service started the indictment† In recent weeks, prosecutors have once again sorted out the evidence for all the murders and murder plans that revolve around the Marengo trial.
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In less than a year and a half, six men have been shot dead and an attempt has been made to kill seven more. “If everything had worked out, that would have been almost one fatality per month,” said the Public Prosecution Service.
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Here are the murders that revolve around the Marengo trial:
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According to the Public Prosecution Service, the motive for the liquidations was almost always revenge. The victims are said to have talked to the police or opponents from the criminal environment. Sometimes they were killed to prevent them from talking.
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After some murders, the gunmen were able to be apprehended, but it was often unclear who had sent them on their way. Until one of the men from Taghi’s organization went to the police in 2017 and concluded a key witness deal. In exchange for a reduced sentence, he told who was involved in the liquidations.
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Lifetime
The sentence against crown witness Nabil B. is therefore already fixed. The Public Prosecution Service has announced that it will demand 10 years in prison, half of what would normally be asked.
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There is also no doubt about the sentence against the main suspect Ridouan Taghi. According to the OM, he ordered all murders, attempts and preparations for the indictment. With such serious suspicions, the demand of the Public Prosecution Service can only lead to life imprisonment.
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High penalties are also expected against other key figures from his organization. Only the claim against suspect Said R. will follow later. Because it took a long time before he was extradited from Colombia, the handling of his case has been delayed.
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PGP messages
According to the OM, the incriminating statements of the crown witness are supported by many tens of thousands of intercepted PGP messages. These messages are sent with special telephones for encrypted communication.
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The defense of the suspects strongly object to the use of the PGP messages as evidence. According to the lawyers, they may have been obtained illegally, the data may have been tampered with and it is not certain that the users of the telephones are actually the people who sent the messages. The Public Prosecution Service calls that “practically impossible”.
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norm violation
Aside from the indictment murders, the trial itself has been overshadowed by violence. During the handling of the case, a brother, the lawyer (Derk Wiersum) and the confidential adviser of the crown witness (Peter R. de Vries) were murdered. The Public Prosecution Service again suspects out of revenge.
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Lawyers saw this violence as confirmation that the use of key witnesses is irresponsible. “That is the world upside down,” said the prosecutors. They attribute the murders to hardening and a blurring of standards within the criminal environment, whereby people who make statements against clients are unscrupulously punished.
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Find out who the suspects in the Marengo trial and related cases are here:
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