The reason is the statements of witness 5089 that were sent by the Public Prosecution Service to the court and the defense after the court had already closed the investigation on June 30. It prompted the court to reopen the investigation because it appeared that the investigation had been “incomplete”.
This witness 5089 – ‘Eddy’ – is a man who went to a local police officer in his hometown in October last year and reported that he was “on information” in several cases. The witness would have told more about the link between the Pole Krystian M. arrested last week, who would have directed the perpetrators of the murder of the crime journalist, and Ridouan Taghi.
But also witness 5089 told that Kamil E. should have carried out the murder. He refused, after which he was assigned the role of driver of the getaway car.
The information was not forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service in Amsterdam until June 30, the prosecutors said. That did not happen before because the statements of witness 5089 had to remain in the vault and could not be used until his protection was arranged. His life was in danger by testifying. “This case shows how right he is,” the officer said Monday morning.
No new light
As far as the Public Prosecution Service is concerned, the statements of witness 5089 do not shed new light on the case and it will not change the requirements of life imprisonment.
Kamil E.’s lawyers think otherwise. According to Ayse Çimen, it is relevant to know whether Kamil E. was so heavily pressured that refusing to participate was not an option. “That could be the difference between a long prison sentence and life.”
Her colleague Ronald van der Horst, the lawyer of the alleged gunman Delano G., finds the information less relevant. The witness says almost nothing about Delano G. As far as Van der Horst was concerned, the verdict could continue on Thursday, but the court decided otherwise.
disbelief
Both Van der Horst and Çimen said they did not believe that the officers in the case of Peter R. de Vries knew nothing about the information that the public prosecutor’s office in The Hague appeared to have for months.
A pre-trial hearing is scheduled for the end of October. Before that time, a so-called pro forma hearing has to take place, because suspects have to be brought before the judge every three months. Exact dates are not yet known.