Saïd Razzouki attends Marengo trial for the first time: ‘I have no interest in saying anything’ | Inland

The Marengo liquidation process started again on Tuesday after a three-month break. The Amsterdam court wanted to Saïd Razzouki’s (49) lawyers discuss how his criminal case will proceed† The substantive treatment of the trial had already started when the fugitive Razzouki was arrested in Colombia. His extradition process took almost a year and a half and he was eventually extradited to the Netherlands last December. His lawyers Mark Dunsbergen and Robert van ‘t Land have indicated that they need months to read through the many tens of thousands of pages of the criminal file.

The lawyers have already been able to read a lot, but they are far from finished. “It’s a huge job. We are working hard on it. We are therefore unable to indicate at this time what further investigation is required. We can already indicate that we would like to hear the key witness,” said Dunsbergen. He also said that he found it annoying the laptop ban in the Extra Secure Institution (EBI) still applies in Vught, which means that lawyers are not allowed to bring their own laptop (with the file on it). The lawyers do not yet have experience with the solution offered, a secure USB stick on a laptop from the prison. “So we’ll have to see how that goes.”

Then there is an additional problem, which causes further delays. ,,The client’s reading glasses were broken during the transfer from Colombia. It may sound trivial, but it means he can’t read his own file,” Dunsbergen said. According to the lawyer, the problem has been going on for three weeks. “It turns out that it is very difficult to arrange glasses.” Recently an optician visited the EBI to measure Razzouki’s eyes.

Razzouki himself indicated that he had little to report. During the session, he leaned back in his chair, arms folded. He kept his mask on and wasn’t about to say much. “Everything is recorded. I have no interest in saying anything.” He was also not very talkative during interrogations with the detectives. On the advice of his advisers, he gave only one answer: the right to remain silent. According to the lawyers, it is too early to say whether that will change in the near future.

On Tuesday afternoon, the court will continue with the cases against the other suspects. Tuesday was also the first time that the Army helped with the security of the process around the Bunker in Amsterdam† This is to slightly reduce the pressure on the police, because the security operation requires a lot of manpower.