Prosecutor allegedly made a big mistake while investigating lawyer Inez Weski
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) made a big mistake while investigating lawyer Inez Weski, accused of helping her then-client Ridouan Taghi share information from the high-security prison in Vught to his contacts in the outside world. The OM violated legal privilege, was revealed during a court hearing in The Hague last week, Financieele Dagblad reported.
Legal privilege regulates that lawyers can communicate with their clients without being spied on by the authorities in order to facilitate a fair trial. It is considered a pillar of the rule of law, and violating that right is a punishable offense.
When arresting Weski in April, the OM seized a large amount of confidential documents from her practice. That included her computer’s hard drive, which was full of confidential information about the Rotterdam lawyer’s clients and which is covered by legal privilege.
On May 24, the public prosecutor shared an official report with “information from the investigation” 26Palma, the codename for the Weski investigation, with other colleagues. According to FD, he did so without first getting permission from the examining magistrate. When the judge later heard what happened, they called it “obviously not the intention.”
Insiders told FD that this involved “information that the OM would very much like to investigate further.”
A spokesperson for the OM told FD that it could not respond on the matter due to formal reasons. In general, the spokesperson said the OM “absolutely does not treat legal privilege lightly.”
Febe Schoolderman, Weski’s lawyer, also would not comment, only saying that Weski is using all legal means against the course of events.
