Tahmina Akefi, the former partner of Peter R. de Vries, finds it “unbearable” to attend to the appeal in the murder case. She is therefore not present in court on Wednesday.
Akefi’s lawyer read her written statement in court at Schiphol. She called the murder of her beloved “unimaginably cruel”. “The thought of being confronted with the suspects again is unbearable.”
Akefi has therefore chosen “out of self-protection” not to attend to the appeal. De Vries’ children and their mother will exercise their right to speak on Thursday. They have attended the sessions this week.
De Vries was shot on July 6, 2021, in the Lange Leidsedwarsstraat in the center of Amsterdam, after a broadcast of RTL Boulevard . He died nine days later from his injuries.
Nine men are on trial for involvement in the murder. These include the suspected perpetrators, including Kamil E. and Delano G., and Krystian M., who allegedly directly controlled that pair. Whether M. is also the client, E. did not want to say during the session on Monday, but the Public Prosecution Service assumes that he is.
‘Hope that every stone is turned’
In her statement, Akefi says that she hopes that “every stone is turned” and it becomes clear who the client was. With the arrest of suspect Raily B., in April of this year, according to Akefi “another extra piece of the puzzle seems to have been put in place”. B. allegedly arranged payments to suspects in the case.
But the “puzzle is far from complete,” Akefi states. Only when that is the case, “can real mourning take place.”