Suspect convicted of killing Amsterdam attorney blames media for recent death threats

The leading suspect in the appeal about the facilitation of the murder of the attorney Derk Wiersum, Anouar T., has said that he is being threatened with assassination as a result of the media coverage of the case. The director of the prison where he is currently jailed allegedly notified him of this. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) has said that they have no knowledge of the threat and have also received no information from the prison.

T. claims that he is in a strict detention regime due to the threat to his life, which allegedly came as a result of the media coverage or from “the verdict of the court.” He says he has received no further substantiation of this threat, except that there is danger "as long as the media has a role in this case.”

Derk Wiersum was defending Nabil B., who was the crown witness in the Marengo trial, which was the name given for the procedure against crime boss Ridouan Taghi, and the leaders of his criminal organization. A total of 17 suspects were a part of the trial. This included a government cooperator. The suspects stood accused of the murders of six people, four cases of attempted murder, the preparation of seven other assassinations, an attack on an espionage supply shop, and participation in a criminal enterprise.

The suspect in this case is a relative of the leading suspect in what was randomly called the Marengo trial, Ridouan Taghi. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison for the leading role he played in Wiersum’s murder. The appeal in this case is currently ongoing.

T. shared the information he received about the potential assassination threat on Monday with the appeal court in Amsterdam. The OM said that they have no knowledge of where this information is coming from. It was confirmed that there had been a threat in the past on T. from the criminal organization that he used to be a part of.

Anouar T. does not have a lawyer and is conducting his own defense. However, the 31-year-old has said that he is running into many obstacles while he is imprisoned. He said that, for example, he is not receiving documents because his mail is being partly restricted, and also does not have a law book available.

Two lawyers have been approached via the Legal Aid Board with the question of whether they would like to assist T. They were present at the hearing on Monday but not as T.'s counsel. The court is still considering how to deal with this.

Derk Wiersum was fatally shot in Buitenveldert, Amsterdam, on September 18, 2019. It is assumed that the murder is linked to his role as an attorney in the extensive Marengo trial concerning Ridouan Taghi, who is not a suspect in this case. He was sentenced to life in prison in the Marengo trial. That case is still under appeal.

The two shooters in Wiersum’s murder were sentenced to 30 years in jail after an appeal. The case in which T. is a suspect concerns facilitating the murder.