The court in the large Brabant drug case around main suspect Martien R. was challenged on Thursday. According to R.’s lawyer, Jan-Hein Kuijpers, the court created the appearance of bias by already taking a decision last autumn about the questioning of a witness, but not sharing it with the defense. That is why the lawyers do not want to continue with these judges.
It concerns the decision to interrogate one of the officers via video link. The man currently resides in Curaçao. The lawyers only heard that at the end of last month and want to hear the agent in court.
The court also approved on Thursday morning the possibility that the officers involved will be interrogated in court in disguise. They may wear a wig and glasses, it reports Brabants Dagblad. “Since the murder of lawyer Wiersma, we also live in a different time. We’d rather be overcautious than take unnecessary risks. And it is not the case that the policemen are going to put on diving goggles and party noses, but a wig is allowed.”
R.’s lawyers did not agree with this either. But according to the Public Prosecution Service, it is important that the agents remain anonymous, given the bad reputation of the R family.
Sixteen years in prison
Main suspect Martien R. was arrested 3.5 years ago during a major police operation in Oss. In September 2021, he was sentenced by the court to sixteen years in prison for leading a criminal family network that traded in weapons and drugs. Eleven family members and two others were convicted of, among other things, participation in the criminal organization and trafficking in prohibited items.
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