marengo processThe key witness in the extensive Marengo liquidation process has legal assistance again after months. Lawyer Onno de Jong, who resigned from the defense last March together with his colleague Peter Schouten, has registered as a lawyer again. De Jong confirmed this to the ANP.
The Marengo criminal trial has been going on for years and is currently in the final phase. Key witness Nabil B. still has the opportunity for a final response (rejoinder) and last word. Every suspect in a criminal case is given the last chance to say something to the judges at the very end of the substantive hearing of his or her case. After two postponements, this is scheduled for September 22 in De Bunker in Amsterdam-Osdorp. B. will be there with his ‘new’ lawyer.
It has not been announced why De Jong and Schouten resigned from the defense at the time. In mid-July, the president of the court called it ‘a complicated situation’ that B. was still without legal assistance. De Jong does not explain why he took over the defense again.
Intercepted messages
The evidence in Marengo is based on, among other things, intercepted messages about criminal acts from the PGP telephones of the suspects, but only came to light after key witness B. reported himself to the judicial authorities. He has made incriminating statements about several suspects in exchange for a reduced sentence. He was therefore sentenced to ten years in prison.
A week after it became public in March 2018 that B. had registered as a remorseful opt-out, his brother was shot dead. In 2019, his lawyer Derk Wiersum was shot dead and in July 2021, confidant Peter R. de Vries. These murders are not officially part of Marengo, but are seen as an inseparable part of the process.
Complexity
It is still unclear when the court will make a ruling. Initially, the ruling was scheduled for October 20, but the court postponed it indefinitely ‘given the complexity of the deliberation’. Last April, lawyer Inez Weski was arrested, causing the situation that main suspect Ridouan Taghi and two co-suspects were left without a lawyer. A life sentence has been demanded for all. They now have new lawyers.
Listen to our podcast Crime de la Crime, with criminal lawyers Peter Schouten and Onno de Jong here:
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