This morning, The Court of Amsterdam sentenced two men to 30 years imprisonment for the murder of Derk Wiersum, the lawyer of a crown witness in a large scale case against the Moroccan-Dutch Mafia.
The verdict comes two years after the assassination of Wiersum in front of his Amsterdam house. The sentence given is lower than the requirement of the Public Prosecution Service, which demanded life imprisonment, reports NOS.
The convicted men are Gërmo B. and Moren B., childhood friends from Almere and Rotterdam, respectively. On September 18, 2019, the men shot Wiersum six times, killing him and driving away.
The two men have extensive criminal records, with a history of violent crimes and illegal possession of weapons. However, according to the judge, they had no history of murder or manslaughter, thus forgoing the life sentence.
Premeditated murder
The court found the men guilty of committing premeditated murder. The suspects maintained their innocence throughout the whole trial. They also tried to give an alibi for the time of the murder, but the court didn’t buy it.
“They committed the murder together,” said the judge during the verdict.
Who ordered the murder?
It is still unclear to investigators who ordered the murder. However, the main suspect is Ridouan Taghi, the alleged head of the Dutch-Moroccan Mafia. This is due to the fact that Derk Wiersum was the lawyer of a crown witness in the Marengo case against Taghi’s criminal organisation.
In addition, both the crown witness’ brother and confidant, Peter R. de Vries (the famous Dutch crime journalist) were also murdered.
Taghi is currently behind bars as the prime suspect in the Marengo trial.
Evidence
The evidence used to convict the pair included the fact that their DNA was found in stolen cars used in the preparation of the murder and the murder itself.
The court determined Morena was the shooter, and Gërmo was the getaway driver. However, both men were found equally responsible for the murder.
They also had prepaid phones, which were used heavily before the murder. However, after the crime, the phones immediately became inactive.
A third suspect
A third suspect was also arrested in this case, Taghi’s cousin Anouar T. It is believed that he provided the stolen cars used in the murder. His trial will start at a later date.
Follow DutchReview on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and updates in the Netherlands.
Feature Image: vchalup2/Depositphotos