Key witness's murdered brother did ask for protection: report

The murdered brother of key witness Nabil B. did ask for protection, and not only for a "limited form" of security as the Public Prosecutor previously said, sources told Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool.

Reduan B., 41, was gunned down at his Amsterdam company in March, six days after the Public Prosecutor announced that his brother Nabil B. was now a key witness in several investigations into gangland assassinations. At that time, Nabil B.'s family received little or no protection, according to the newspaper. They thought that the announcement would only be made after the arrests of the leaders in the investigations Nabil B. gave testimony for.

According to the newspaper's sources, B.'s family repeatedly insisted on protective measures and pointed out the government's duty of care. Reduan B. wanted to know from the Prosecutor what measures were necessary before he was shot to death at his workplace on March 29th. One of the sources called the fact that Reduan B. was not properly secured a "fundamental underestimation of the seriousness of the threat".

According to the Public Prosecutor, an assessment was made of the risks based on the available information and subsequent measures were taken. The Prosecutor told Het Parool that despite "explicit invitations" Reduan B. did not want to discuss protection measures and that adequate security without his cooperation was not possible. The Prosecutor also said that after the key witness was announced, work was done on "additional limited measures" around Reduan's workplace. The fact that this was only done after Nabil B. was announced as key witness, is not unusual, according to the Prosecutor.