Today the matter will be discussed during a hastily scheduled hearing in the secure court in Vught. Taghi himself said that he is “desperate” and indicated that he would really like to have a lawyer again. “I will send a letter and ask again for a lawyer, but I don’t want to put anyone on the spot. It is not in the interest of a lawyer if he is forced to assist me.” He fears that the next lawyer who assists him will be seen as “a pariah.”
Arrest of previous lawyer
Taghi has been without legal assistance since the arrest of lawyer Vito Shukrula last April. Even a call to all Dutch criminal lawyers did not yield a suitable candidate, it became clear last Monday. “We are now 19 months into the appeal and 10 months of that time Taghi has been without legal assistance,” the chairman of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal said at the time. “That is a problem.” According to him, attempts had been made on all sides to break “the impasse”, “but to no avail.”
Ridouan Taghi still without a lawyer: ‘There are no serious candidates available’
In April 2023, Taghi’s then lawyer Inez Weski was arrested. She, like Shukrula, is suspected of participating in Taghi’s criminal organization. The criminal case against Weski will be substantively dealt with in April next year, it is planned. There has not yet been a public hearing in the case against Shukrula.
Taghi’s cousin, lawyer Youssef T., was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison in early 2023 for, among other things, passing on messages to and from Taghi in the Extra Secure Institution in Vught where he is detained.
Lifelong
Taghi (47) was sentenced by the court to life imprisonment at the beginning of last year. He is suspected of involvement in several liquidations and attempts to do so.