Key witness' lawyers not quitting after attack on crime writer

Lawyers Peter Schouten and Onno de Jong will continue to represent Nabil B., the key witness in the major assassinations trial referred to as the Marengo process, even after the attack on crime writer Peter R. de Vries, they said to RTL Nieuws. "Nabil clearly said that he wants to continue," Schouten said. "Onno and I already decided that."

De Vries was shot multiple times at close range in Amsterdam last week Tuesday. He was critically injured and has been in hospital since. De Vries acted as confidant and advisor to Nabil B. in the Marengo process. B.'s previous lawyer Derk Wiersum and his brother Reduan were both shot dead in 2019. 

Schouden and De Jong said that they discussed the possibility of an attack with De Vries. "Then we said: If this happens to one of us, the other wants us to continue. We do not want to give in. That has always been the position of Peter R. de Vries throughout his life," Schouten said.

According to De Jong, continuing as Nabil B.'s lawyer is no longer a question for him. "Because we are in this situation and there is no going back," he said. "This is what we have to deal with and that's what we do. Moreover, if I were to stop tomorrow, the security wouldn't completely disappear either. So that doesn't change the situation."