The recently arrested lawyer Vito Shukrula is initiating summary proceedings against the Dutch State. His own lawyer has reportedly been unable to contact Shukrula, who previously assisted Ridouan Taghi in the Marengo trial.
Shukrula was arrested last month on suspicion of participating in Taghi’s criminal organization. He allegedly passed on messages with criminal content from Taghi. Shukrula denies these accusations.
Lawyer Sultan Kat is initiating the summary proceedings on behalf of Shukrula. She is not assisting him in the criminal case, but in “private matters”. Kat, along with lawyer Carlo Crince le Roy, is taking over cases in which Shukrula was the lawyer. “For the sake of continuity, it is therefore very important that we have confidential contact with Shukrula,” Kat tells the ANP.
Kat has been unable to contact Shukrula since Friday. She says she has called several times and contacted the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (Dienst Justitiële Inrichtingen) by email. Until Friday, Kat and Crince le Roy had regular contact with Shukrula. Kat calls it “highly undesirable” that this is no longer possible.
Incidentally, Kat and Crince le Roy, together with Shukrula, were defending Taghi. As far as is known, they themselves are not suspects in the case for which Shukrula has been arrested.
Detention Without Restrictions
Two weeks ago, the council chamber decided that Shukrula is no longer subject to restrictions. This means that he is allowed to communicate with the outside world again. The council chamber did reject a request to lift the pre-trial detention.
The Public Prosecution Service does not want to comment on questions about the issue. “We will do that in the courtroom,” says a spokesperson.
Kat will ask the court to handle the summary proceedings as soon as possible. She expects that to happen within a week.
Three Lawyers of Taghi Have Already Been arrested
Shukrula is already the third lawyer of Taghi to be arrested. In early 2023, lawyer Youssef T., who is a nephew of Taghi, was convicted of passing on messages. In April 2023, Inez Weski was temporarily arrested on the same suspicion. Her criminal case is still ongoing.
The judge sentenced Taghi last year to a life sentence for leading a criminal organization that was involved in murders, among other things. The appeal is currently underway, in which Taghi has no lawyer.
Kat and Crince le Roy withdrew from the defense after the arrest of Shukrula, who has been temporarily suspended by the Bar Association due to the police investigation. At the next hearing in early June, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal wants to discuss Taghi’s lawyer issue.