The court in Amsterdam extended the pre-trial detention of Youssef T. by three months on Thursday afternoon. T. is Ridouan Taghi’s cousin and worked as his lawyer. According to the Public Prosecution Service, Youssef participated in an escape attempt by Ridouan Taghi.
According to the court, the suspicion against Youssef is sufficiently substantiated. “An investigation is still ongoing and the suspect could still frustrate that investigation,” the court said. “Moreover, these are very serious facts, and given the nature of the case, a suspension of his pre-trial detention would lead to great social unrest.”
During the hearing, the Public Prosecution Service confirmed that Ridouan Taghi has also been considered a suspect in this criminal case, but that he will not be prosecuted in this case for the time being. Taghi has declined to answer questions about the exchange of messages with his cousin. Youssef T. is suspected of being a member of a criminal organization, aiding in a potentially violent outbreak, drug trafficking and money laundering.
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Youssef T. has confessed that he worked as an errand boy, but states that his actions have not endangered people. T. refuses to answer questions about specific messages for the time being. He invokes the duty of confidentiality that he has towards his client as a lawyer. According to the Public Prosecution Service, he is free to decide for himself whether he wants to answer questions. “Given the content of the messages, it is difficult to imagine that Youssef communicated about this in his role as a lawyer.”
Also read: Taghi’s Cousin and the Escape Plans
Youssef’s lawyers believe that he is being attributed too large a role. According to them, it is not certain that Youssef has taken cognizance of the content of all messages. They also believe that it is not clear from the file whether Youssef was the only person who would have passed on information to and from Ridouan Taghi.
That is why they have requested a list of all persons who have visited Taghi or with whom he has had telephone contact. They also want to know what the protocol is that the extra-secure facility in Vught uses to screen these contacts and whether there may have been a violation of this protocol. According to Youssef’s lawyers, this information is important to make a judgment about Youssef’s behavior and the possible punishment that could be imposed by the court. The court rejected those requests because they were insufficiently substantiated as yet.
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