The Marengo trial centers on main suspect Ridouan Taghi and sixteen co-suspects, who are together suspected of involvement in six liquidations and a number of attempts to do so. It is a long-drawn-out process, in which tempers keep running higher.
It erupted last month after the prosecution had linked a number of lawyers with leaking classified information to gang members of Ridouan Taghi.
Gang van Taghi in court: here’s what you need to know
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If it is up to the court, there will be a reconciliation meeting with the Public Prosecution Service and the lawyers involved. In the meantime, a series of interrogations that were planned has been removed from the agenda. “A horse remedy”, says professor of criminal law Sven Brinkhoff of the Open University.
Drastic measure
According to Brinkhoff, the suspension of the interrogations is a drastic measure. “Because those hearings are extremely important for the progress of the process.”
Nevertheless, Brinkhoff understands and even appreciates the court’s attempt to change the disturbed relationships to restore somewhat. “It must remain workable. Otherwise you go from riot to riot and that distracts from what it really is about: an important lawsuit about a series of liquidations. Very good that the court is doing this. Although I wonder if it is not too late. is and the relationships are now too messed up to talk to each other. “
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A preliminary hearing in the Marengo trial last month was completely overshadowed by the row between the Public Prosecution Service and lawyers. The attorneys cited by the Public Prosecution Service as possible pass-throughs of classified information to Taghi’s criminal organization responded furiously to the accusation.
Declaration of war
For example, Nico Meijering, who represents the brothers Saïd and Mohamed R., spoke of ‘a declaration of war’, and his colleague Christian Flokstra stated that the Public Prosecution Service had indulged in ‘deliberate damage’ to lawyers. “The malice is dripping from it,” said Flokstra in court last month.
The anger was further fueled after AD revealed that Meijering and another office mate, Leon van Kleef, had been followed by detectives when they wanted to visit a client in Dubai. The OM had received a tip that the lawyers might pay a visit to Ridouan Taghi, who was still a fugitive at the time. The shadowing of the lawyers did not yield any useful information.
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In the meantime, lawyer Meijering also collided with the examining magistrate, who supervises the interviews of witnesses behind closed doors. The conflict revolved around whether or not the full name of the partner of crown witness Nabil B. was written out in the research requests submitted by Meijering. The examining magistrate accused Meijering of ‘a complete disrespect for the decisions of the examining magistrate’, which prompted Meijering to accuse the examining magistrate of bias.
Supported by several other lawyers, Meijering submitted a request for challenge. If such a request is granted, the examining magistrate must be replaced.
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The challenge room of the court ruled last week that Meijering may indeed have reason to ‘feel unfairly treated’. However, because bias was not considered proven, the challenge request was rejected.
Breather
The Amsterdam court seems to want to take a breather after all the incidents. Witnesses were to be interrogated again last week, including crown witness Nabil B. But those interrogations were taken off the agenda by the court.
In a letter sent last week to the lawyers and public prosecutors involved, the court first wrote that it wanted to reflect ‘on the dynamics that have arisen’. High representatives of the court want to talk to the Public Prosecution Service and lawyers to ‘reflect on the past period and see how the interrogations can be resumed properly’.
For the time being, a new series of interrogations is planned from 14 October. It is unclear whether a reconciliation meeting actually took place before that time. The OM does not want to respond to the invitation of the court, as well as a number of lawyers who have been approached by RTL Nieuws. The court itself does not comment either.
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