Our reporter Saskia Bellleman is present at the case. Follow her live report at the bottom of this post.
The main suspect in Marengo is Ridouan Taghi (44). In the meantime, his supposed ‘right-hand man’ Saïd R. (49) has also become a participant in the trial. 49-year-old R. already hinted to the judges that he would say little on Tuesday. “I have no interest in saying anything.” He also keeps his mouth cap on.
The court will start on Tuesday with a so-called pre-trial hearing in his case, which will include the continuation of his pre-trial detention.
Marengo revolves around a series of underworld murders, of which Taghi is said to have been the principal. In addition to Taghi, sixteen other suspects are on trial. The process started in March 2018. The day after the Public Prosecution Service announced that it had a key witness (Nabil B.), his brother was shot dead in Amsterdam-Noord.
Text continues below the photo.
Suspected murderers De Vries
That shocking murder was the first in a series of serious incidents surrounding the trial. In September 2019, B.’s lawyer Derk Wiersum was shot dead at his house in Amsterdam-Buitenveldert. In July last year, the murder of crime reporter Peter R. de Vries in the center of Amsterdam followed, who had acted as adviser and confidential counselor to Nabil B since the summer of 2020. The perpetrators of the murders of B.’s brother and lawyer have been convicted. . On March 3, a new preliminary hearing will take place in the case against the two suspected murderers of De Vries.
In October last year, the police arrested Youssef T., Taghi’s cousin. T. was a lawyer and acted as one of Taghi’s counsel. According to the Public Prosecution Service, he acted as a link between the detainee Taghi and the outside world. Taghi is said to have communicated with him about very violent outbreak plans; he has been detained in the high-security facility in Vught since his arrest in December 2019 in Dubai.
In Marengo, the court has now discussed the various case files. Except for a few, the suspects, Taghi first, are silent. The hearing program includes new interrogations of crown witness B. in the coming weeks.
The Public Prosecution Service hopes to be able to present its final vision on the evidence in June and to come up with the sentencing demands. It is still unclear when the court will rule.