Suspect's lawyers want info from secret services about murder of an Iranian in Almere

Naoufal F., who was sentenced to life in prison for ordering the murder of an Iranian man in Almere, is maintaining his wish to hear the bosses of the intelligence services AIVD and MIVD as witnesses. F., more commonly known under the nickname 'Noffel,' and his lawyers want to know what information the services have about the murder. "Super important," F. said about the information on Friday during an interim hearing in the appeal in the case in the court bunker in Amsterdam-Osdorp.

The victim was shot and killed in front of his house in Almere in December 2015. The two men who committed the murder have been irrevocably sentenced to 23,5 years in prison. F. allegedly worked as the murder broker. He denies this allegation.

In 2018, it was reported that the victim was not the electrician Ali Motamed but Mohammad Reza Kolahi Samadi, who had been sentenced to death in his country for committing a bloody bomb attack on the headquarters of the Republican Party in the early 1980s. The attack resulted in dozens of people dying, among them the head figures of the Iranian regime.

Since then, the question in the court case against F. is whether the murder plot was not more complicated than was initially thought, which was that F. was the murder broker who directed the people who committed the murder. The question now is whether the Iranian government played a role in the murder. Previous requests for the Dutch intelligence services to provide some clarification came to nothing.

F.'s lawyers keep insisting that they think relevant information exists. According to them, the services said they can share no information regarding the subject, but "the court should not accept this." The lawyers believe that information can be exculpatory for 'Noffel.'

The attorneys also said that F. should not have had his case heard by the court in Amsterdam. The case against the perpetrators of the murder was heard in the Midden-Nederland court. The lawyers claim that the law states that the Public Prosecution Service should have done the same with F.'s case.

Earlier stages of the court case saw the court dismiss this argument, but the Supreme Court now supports the lawyer's argument. In the ruling earlier this year, they came to a similar conclusion in the case against one of the executors. According to the lawyers, the Midden-Nederland court should hear the case again.

The court will decide on the requests on July 11.