Amsterdam Dean investigates actions of lawyers in Taghi case

The Amsterdam Dean, supervisor of the legal profession, will investigate the actions of three lawyers in the case of the criminal organisation of Ridouan Taghi. He will do so following a request to do so from the Public Prosecutor’s Office
public prosecutor of having passed on information to Taghi’s accomplices. They are accused of having done so while their clients were still detained under restrictive measures and were therefore not allowed to communicate about the case. The three lawyers work for the same firm, Ficq & Partners.

Meijering says that he and his office mates are “very pleased” with the investigation. Because of the duty of confidentiality, the lawyers cannot respond to the accusations in a public hearing. The Dean does not have a duty of confidentiality and they can disclose the facts. “We have also asked the Dean himself for this investigation in order to clear us of any blame.”

dean in the Central Netherlands. It is not known whether an investigation will be started into his actions.

About two weeks ago the accusations came in the news, when several newspapers wrote about the new official report in the Marengo trial. In that criminal case the criminal Taghi and sixteen other suspects are on trial for various murders and attempted murders. The Public Prosecutor’s Office refers in the document to cracked encrypted messages and statements by Crown Witness Nabil B..

A contact from Taghi would have gone to Kasem to find out how the police had tracked down these weapons. The lawyer denies having given him this information. The Amsterdam Dean had already started an investigation into Kasem’s actions. That investigation is still ongoing.

Advocates change

Because the picket lawyers of other suspects in the case would refuse to pass on information, they would have been replaced by Taghi’s henchmen, including lawyer Flokstra. It would appear from the messages referred to by the Public Prosecutor’s Office that Taghi’s henchmen obtained information from these lawyers from the files of the suspects who were still in restrictions at the time.

This would include information about what their clients were suspected of, whether any persons were still wanted and what kind of evidence there was. They would also keep an eye on whether Taghi’s name would turn up in the investigation.

Council of Discipline

The lawyers are thus accused of violating the restrictive measures. If a suspect is in restraints, neither the suspect nor the lawyer may speak to third parties about the case because that could harm the investigation.

If the supervisor’s investigation shows that the rules have not been followed, the lawyers must appear before the Board of Discipline. That decides whether an attorney at law is actually to blame. In that case, the attorney at law can be warned, reprimanded or fined. In exceptional cases, lawyers may be suspended.