The Amsterdam court has decided that the criminal case against a man suspected of the liquidation of Rida Bennajem, one of the first victims in the Amsterdam underworld war, must be dropped. The reason is that the case stood still for no less than nine years and the Public Prosecution Service has made no progress in the criminal case.
In March 2013, Bennajem, just 21, was shot in the head at close range in front of his home and died on the spot. According to the police and the judiciary, Bennajem was involved in a double liquidation in the Staatsliedenbuurt in Amsterdam. That eruption of violence shocked the country and eventually set the stage for a bloody underworld war. A few months after the Wild West scenes in the Staatsliedenbuurt, Bennajem himself was killed.
A bunch of keys was found next to Bennajem’s body, which was secured by the police. Forensic investigators conducted extensive investigations and found the DNA of SL, a friend of Bennajem’s, on the key ring. During a search, a jacket was later found, in which gunpowder remains were found. Further investigation revealed that most of the gunpowder residue came from police ammunition, which according to lawyer Jan-Hein Kuijpers shows that his client had nothing to do with the murder of Bennajem.
SL was arrested several months after Bennajem’s murder, always invoking his right to remain silent. After more than nine months, his pre-trial detention was suspended by the Amsterdam court, because at that time the Public Prosecution Service had no idea when it would come to a substantive hearing of the criminal case. However, he had to adhere to some strict conditions. In 2015, his pre-trial detention was even lifted completely.
Despite all efforts, the client should have been acquitted years ago
The Public Prosecution Service has tried to gather more evidence against SL. An endless search was made in the database of the cracked messaging service Ennetcom, which was used by many criminal organizations. Despite years of search, the judiciary could not find incriminating reports linking SL to the murder of Bennajem. And so the file dragged on for years, to no avail.
Finally, at the end of March of this year, the substantive handling of the case was on the agenda. The Public Prosecutor stated that the Public Prosecution Service should be declared inadmissible in the prosecution of the suspect ‘in connection with the passage of time and the fact that no new incriminating facts have come to light since 2014’. The court also agrees: the long time that the investigation was halted, combined with the fact that there is no new evidence, means that the criminal case must be dropped, the court believes.
‘Only now can he move on with his life’
And that is unique, says lawyer Kuijpers. Nowadays it rarely or never happens that the Public Prosecution Service is declared inadmissible, which means that the Public Prosecution Service has forfeited its right to prosecute. Let alone in a liquidation case. “Despite all efforts, the client should have been acquitted years ago. Only now can he finally move on with his life. The sword over his head is gone.”
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