Ridouan Taghi, two others get life imprisonment for organized crime assassinations
Last update 11:55 a.m.
Alleged organized crime leader Ridouan Taghi was convicted and sentenced to life in prison along with his co-defendants, Saïd R. en Mario R., for charges brought against them in a long-running case involving six assassinations, four attempted killings, and plans to murder several others. Though prosecutors demanded life sentences against three additional suspects who were also convicted on Tuesday, Achraf B. was sentenced to more than 29 years behind bars, Mohamed R. received 27 years in prison, and Mao R. will serve 15 years.
The other 11 suspects in the case were also convicted. Their sentences ranged from 21 months to more than 23 years. Taghi was the prime suspect in the trial. Now representing himself as his attorneys have all either resigned or been arrested, Taghi said ahead of time he would not attend the reading of the verdict. Eight suspects did attend the ruling - key witness Nabil B. Mao R. Arthur M. Waild M., Mohamed M. Zaki R., Charif el A., and Ricardo O.
The court considered it proven that Taghi ordered the murders of Ronald Bakker (2015), Samir Erraghib (2016), Ranko Scekic (2016), and Hakim Changachi (2017). Changachi was not the intended target of that attack. According to the court, there is enough evidence to prove that Taghi was behind this murder and responsible for the mistaken identity that led to an innocent man’s death.
There was “no evidence” to show that Taghi ordered the murder of Abderrahim Belhadj in May 2016. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) did present evidence showing that Taghi and Mario R. were involved in preparations to kill Belhadj four months earlier. The court, therefore, convicted them for preparatory acts in this case. The court also found “insufficient evidence” that Taghi ordered the murder of Martin Kok in December 2018.
Key witness Nabil B. was sentenced to 10 years in prison, equal to what the OM recommended. "Your situation is a special one," the court said. At least five murders have been solved thanks to Nabil B.'s testimony. And while the crimes Nabil B. committed justified a long prison sentence, several circumstances influenced the court's agreement to reduce the sentence according to the OM's recommendations. These included that Nabil B. could have little to no contact with his family during his time in the witness protection program and the murders of his brother, lawyer, and confidant, the court said. "You will have to live with the reality that you will always have to look over your shoulder."
The court also convicted Taghi of leading a criminal organization and all other suspects of membership in that organization. “We are talking about ruthless, disruptive violence, in which human life is worthless,” the court said about Taghi’s organization.
The ruling concluded the six-year criminal case, randomly assigned the name "Marengo," though an appeal is expected. The six-year case was conducted on 142 hearing dates. That is too long, the court said on Tuesday. Even a complicated process like this one should be handled within four years. The court, therefore, reduced the sentences of all suspects - except the three sentenced to life - by three months.
The court read the verdict at The Bunker, a highly-secured courthouse in Amsterdam-Osdorp, just after 10 a.m. on Tuesday. In preparation for the verdict, security was dramatically beefed up that morning, with heavily armed police officers in body armor stationed around the facility.
Prosecutors tried 17 suspects in total, including two people suspected of running the crime ring alongside the 46-year-old Taghi. They are 51-year-old Saïd R. and Mao R., who is now 48. Life sentences were demanded against the three of them, as well as Mohamed R., who is 42 years old, Achraf B., who is 30, and Mario R., aged 44.
The trial was far from normal, with three people connected to the prosecution's key witness, Nabil B., murdered during the procedure. His brother was the first to be killed, gunned down days after prosecutors revealed they had an informant in the case. B.'s attorney, Derk Wiersum, was murdered in front of his Amsterdam home, and B.'s advisor, the journalist Peter R. de Vries, was killed while walking to his car after appearing on a television broadcast from an Amsterdam studio.
B. is believed to have become a cooperator after the mistaken identity killing of Hakim Changachi, who was shot in his Utrecht flat in January 2017. Khalid H. was believed to be the intended target.
The remaining suspects in the case
Aside from B.'s testimony, prosecutors relied heavily on decrypted chat messages in which the murders were discussed. As an informant, prosecutors requested that the court cut half of the time off of B.'s sentence, recommending a 10-year prison term. More than 26 years was demanded against Zakaria el H., 45, and Mohamed el A., 34, while prosecutors recommended more than 25 years for Zakaria A., who is now 30.
The 51-year-old Arthur M. was facing a sentence of almost 24 years behind bars, while 37-year-old Walid M. was looking at 20 years. A total of 16 years was demanded against Baghdad el H., 48, Mohamed M., 40, and Charif el A., 36. The 44-year-old Zaki R. was looking at a possible 14 year sentence, while Ricardo O., aged 35, was facing up to six years in jail.
The victims in the case
The first murder victim was Ronald Bakker, a 59-year-old worker at a Nieuwegein store that sold espionage and counter-surveillance equipment. He was killed in front of his house in Huizen on September 9, 2015, in what prosecutors believe was a message to others.
Samir Erraghib was killed in IJsselstein on April 17, 2016. The OM said Taghi thought the 37-year-old betrayed him. He was shot in a car at his home while his seven-year-old daughter sat with him.
Abderrahim Belhadj, 29, was suspected of stealing two bricks of cocaine from Taghi's organization. He was killed on May 9, 2016, in Amsterdam-Zuidoost. Decrypted messages related to the case showed an order to kill him with "three headshots."
Then on June 22, 2016, dozens of bullets were fired at 45-year-old Ranko Scekic in front of his home while his wife and child were inside. Taghi reportedly feared Scekic was going to testify against him, and had him killed.
Crime blogger Martin Kok was murdered on December 8, 2016, while visiting a sex club in Laren. Assassins had also tried to shoot him in the head a few hours earlier in Amsterdam, and an explosive nearly killed him months before. Kok, 49, had written articles about Taghi and his accomplice Naoufal "Noffel" F.
The next murder was the mistaken identity killing of Changachi at his home on Faustdreef in Utrecht-Overvecht, where Khalid H. was the actual target.
Taghi's arrest in Dubai, Saïd R.'s capture in Colombia, and accusations against Taghi's attorneys
Taghi was on the Dutch most wanted list for years, and was finally captured by police in Dubai in December 2019. He was brought to the Netherlands days later. Soon after, Saïd R. was arrested in Colombia, but his extradition procedure took nearly two years to complete.
Once he was in the Netherlands, Taghi was placed in restricted custody and was forbidden from communicating with anyone other than his legal representation. He was held at the country's most secured prison in Vught. During that time, his lawyer and cousin, Youssef T., was arrested on allegations he helped Taghi maintain contact with the outside world. T. was convicted and sentenced to 5.5 years in prison early last year.
Two attorneys representing Ridouan Taghi were arrested on allegations they acted as a conduit between the crime boss and his network, one of whom has already been convicted. Defense attorneys also challenged the court's independence on separate occasions, but all challenges were struck down.
Taghi's main lawyer, top criminal defense attorney Inez Weski, was arrested on a similar accusation. She has not yet faced trial.
The court presiding over the case has been challenged six times by defense attorneys who accused the judges of bias in the case. Their challenges were all rejected.
Prosecutors also challenged the trustworthiness of defense attorneys, who were accused of leaking information to Taghi's crime ring during a separate criminal trial. Investigators were also used to follow defense attorneys on a trip to Dubai when prosecutors suspected they were going to meet with Taghi when he was still a fugitive from justice. That rumor was false.
