Dec 19, 2023 at 7:06 AM Update: 18 minutes ago
Ridouan Taghi is again without lawyers. The team that has assisted him since June has resigned from the defense out of dissatisfaction with the court’s decisions. “There’s no point in continuing.”
The lawyers say in a press release that they have the feeling that since their entry into the Marengo process they have only been obstructed by the Amsterdam court. Taghi would not be given a good defense.
It is once again causing a stir in the Marengo process. The lawyers’ decision could lead to further delays in the five-year liquidation process with Taghi as the main suspect. The verdict was scheduled for the end of February next year.
The lawyers say that Taghi himself has indicated that he no longer needs a lawyer in this final phase of the Marengo process.
Taghi found himself without a lawyer in April after his lawyer Inez Weski was arrested. She is suspected of having passed on messages from her then client to the outside world. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the lawyer was part of Taghi’s criminal organization.
Weski almost immediately decided to drop the defense, after which Michael Ruperti stepped forward in early June. He said he would put together a new defense team on Taghi’s behalf. Three weeks later it turned out to consist of Ruperti himself, Arthur van der Biezen and Sjoerd van Berge Henegouwen.
Request for postponement was rejected
The lawyers quickly requested a nine-month extension. They said they needed that time to read the criminal file. That request was rejected.
In October, the lawyers decided to challenge the court. The judges did not agree to the request to hear Sil A.. The elite soldier says that he was approached at the end of 2019 with the question whether it was possible to transfer Taghi, who was still at large, to the Netherlands and even eliminate him if necessary.
The court saw no added value in the interrogation, and confidence in the judges was lost. The challenge was not successful and so the Marengo process could continue. At the next hearing, A. was present again and was again asked if he could be heard. It was also requested again to give Taghi’s lawyers more time.
According to the lawyers, these requests have again been rejected. They say that at the next hearing – next Thursday – they will also not be given the opportunity to ask questions about the abuse of Taghi shortly after his arrest.
For the lawyers, it is a sign that the Marengo process must continue at all costs. For that reason they had asked for the case against Taghi to be separated, without success. “We thank you for playing the role of a mock defense.”
2023-12-19 06:06:02
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