Threat from his ex’s mother. Violation of a location ban. Driving into an agent. Racing through the built-up area at 110 kilometers per hour, on a bicycle path and a bus lane. Ignoring red light and possession of several grams of cocaine. Former lawyer Burhan K. from Veghel had to answer to the court in Breda on Tuesday for everything he would have done wrong in 2019 and 2021.
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) believes that the 36-year-old man should go to jail for fifty days, although he has already served it in pre-trial detention. He faces another 100 days in prison if he commits a crime again. The Public Prosecution Service also demanded that he be supervised by the probation service, that he no longer seeks contact with his ex-wife and her mother and that he no longer uses drugs.
The suspect was already removed from office last year, because his behavior has cast a bad light on the legal profession. He had a law firm in Eindhoven. Previously, K. was in a cell for threats against the two women.
Mental health problems
K. reported to the courtroom this morning dressed in a black shirt, black sweatpants and white sneakers. The heavily built man has been struggling with psychological problems for years. He has been admitted to a clinic a number of times, has recently been living in a sheltered environment and is not yet able to do without medication. “But I’ve been clean for a year and a half,” he said on Tuesday. He also appeared to have suffered from a ‘toxic relationship’ with his ex.
‘Very angry’
The first offenses date from July 2019 and they also have to do with that clouded relationship. K. had then gone to an allotment complex in Eindhoven to talk to his former wife.
At one point, K. felt threatened by the woman’s mother, who was with her daughter. K. denies that he threatened his ex-mother-in-law with death: “I was in psychosis, I only found out later when I was admitted to a psychiatric clinic. Now I wonder why I behaved that way at the time,” he says.
He does admit that he resisted when officers wanted to arrest him: “I was angry, very angry.”
Five months later, on December 14, 2019, things got completely out of hand, at least according to the Public Prosecution Service. K. wanted to visit his ex again in Eindhoven with his car, although he knew that he would violate a restraining order. K: “Suddenly I saw a police car and was overcome by fear and panic, because I did not want to be arrested again. Then I was turned away by an agent.”
‘Escaped Death’
After that, the readings of the suspect and officers who were heard diverge greatly. K. denies that he ran into a cop. The police officer, who was present in the courtroom and has demanded compensation, would have escaped death, but according to K. that was not so bad. “Is not true. Nonsense, total nonsense.”
At first, K. denied that a wild chase through Eindhoven and on the road to Nuenen subsequently started. A little later he spoke of a ‘hunting chase’: “They wanted to catch me at all costs.” After the resident of Veghel had stopped, he was said to have been beaten and kicked by five police officers, even when he was lying on the ground. “And that while I had already surrendered.”
Two years later, coke was found with him in Rotterdam, he admitted: “I was in a deep psychosis and used a lot at that time.”
K. has since retired from his successful law firm, but he does work as a legal assistant. He also says that he has had no contact with his ex for more than a year. After the trial, K. said he continued to hope for acquittal.
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