The trial of the lawsuit against the two suspects in the murder of Peter R. de Vries started in Amsterdam on Tuesday morning. Peter Schouten, friend and colleague of Peter R., is sitting there in the room. Not as a lawyer, but as a friend. And that doesn’t suit him. “I have built a protective wall by trying to be as emotional as possible in it.”
Schouten says on Tuesday morning in the program Wakker! on Omroep Brabant radio quite sober that he is mainly curious about what will happen. An example of the ‘professional attitude’ he says he has adopted. “For me the best method not to be emotionally sucked in today.”
De Vries’ colleague and friend emphasizes that Tuesday will be an important day, especially for the relatives. They will exercise their right to speak. This applies to the children of De Vries, Royce and Kelly, as well as to his partner Tahmina. “Very impressive”, Schouten calls it. He mainly wants to be there as a friend to support them. “It won’t be easy. But I’ll make it.”
“It’s almost a movie from the moment Peter was shot at 7:28 PM.”
He does not want to prejudge the outcome of the case on Tuesday morning. He wants to see what the judge has to say about it. “There’s a lot of information out there about what happened. It’s almost become a movie from the moment Peter was shot at 7:28 PM until the two suspects were arrested on the highway at 8:17 PM. Everything is on camera and then they have it. the texts of what the suspects Kamil E. and Delano G. all discussed with each other and with the ‘murder broker’ while they were on their way.”
On Tuesday, the court will discuss the file and the next of kin of De Vries will have their say. According to the current planning, the Public Prosecution Service will also come up with the punishment requirements. On June 15, the second day of the trial, the pleas of the lawyers of the suspects are on the program, among other things.
De Vries was shot in Amsterdam on 6 July last year and died nine days later. Justice assumes that the murder of De Vries is related to his role as adviser and confidant of Nabil B., the key witness in the Marengo liquidation process, around the main suspect Ridouan Taghi. Schouten worked with De Vries in the team assisting the crown witness. A role that Schouten still fulfills in the Marengo process.
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