Hacked phones provide new evidence in 2016 IJsselstein assassination

The Dutch authorities managed to hack into the phones of two men suspected of assassinating Samir Erraghib in IJsselstein in 2016. The Public Prosecutor believes that data from these phones will reveal which of the two suspects was the gunman, was revealed during the appeal in this case, ANP reports.

The Public Prosecutor did not reveal what data was retrieved from the phones, in order not to jeopardize another investigation. The case was therefore postponed for three months.

Samir Erraghib, 37, was gunned down at his home in IJsselstein on Sunday morning, 17 April 2016. This happened as he and his 7-year-old daughter were getting into the car to go to Arabic lessons. He died in hospital. The girl was not injured in the shooting.

The getaway car the assassins wanted to use would not start. In the car the police found fingerprints, a bag containing three weapons including the one Erraghib was killed with, and a balaclava with DNA traces of 25-year-old Bowy T. from Rosmalen. The other suspect, 24-year-old Abdelghani El H. from Vianen, fled from the scene through a ditch. He was found hiding in a garden shed in wet trousers. In the garden shed the police also found a bag containing more wet clothes and a balaclava with traces of El H.'s DNA.

The court sentenced the two suspects to 20 years in prison last year. They appealed.

The Prosecutor believes that 20 out of a total of 858 telephone fragments gotten from the suspects' phones can serve as evidence in this case. The suspects' lawyers want to listen to all the fragments and decide for themselves what is relevant.