Eight men suspected of involvement in the robbery on the valuables transport in Noord were brought before the court for the first time today. The court mainly dealt with the escape attempt that took place afterwards. According to the OM, the robbers tried to shoot at agents, but the lawyers for the suspects believe that there is insufficient evidence for this.
“He freely admitted that my client was the driver of the Porsche Cayenne,” says Jan-Hein Kuijpers, lawyer for suspect Hachmi el A. Sidy S. also denies little of what happened during the robbery. “My client indicates that he committed a robbery and that he shot,” said his lawyer Gerald Roethof. “But he also indicates that he deliberately shot into the air.”
Qualified Manslaughter
In the courtroom it was therefore more about the violence that was used when the robbers tried to stay out of the hands of the police. The first session showed once again that many officers who were on the scene on that day in May 2021 thought they were looking death in the eye. One of the officers came face to face with one of the robbers who shot over him with an AK-47. “I’ve made thousands of arrests in my 14 years with the police,” he says, “but I’ve never experienced the fear this incident instilled in me.”
That is why the eight suspects are not only being prosecuted for the robbery, but also for attempted manslaughter. ‘Qualified’ manslaughter, the prosecutor calls it. “After the robbery, the suspects tried to kill police officers in an attempt to flee and secure the loot,” said a spokesman for the Public Prosecution Service.
No bullet holes
But the lawyers are certain about the latter, according to them the robbers were not trying to kill anyone. They would only have used violence to deter people.
The lawyers feel empowered by forensic investigation. This shows that only police bullets hit cars or houses. “Of course it is normal to be startled when you see a weapon and hear bullets,” says lawyer Kuijpers. “But if research shows that no bullet holes were subsequently found, there is a chance that the statements of the suspects could be correct.”
One of the robbers did not survive the chase. In addition, Justice is still looking for two suspects. Furthermore, it is not known who exactly pulled the strings in the gang. This may become clear during one of the at least ten session days to follow.