After three years on the run, he leaves Morocco and is arrested a few hours later at Roissy
On the run for three years, Oussama B. was arrested on Wednesday at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, a few hours after leaving Morocco. He had just been sentenced to more than eleven years in prison for his role in preparing the murder of lawyer Derk Wiersum.
Oussama B., 29, ended his run on Wednesday, September 16, in a line of travelers at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle Airport. French customs officers arrested him as he had just landed after boarding a few hours earlier in Morocco, reports AD.
His lawyer, Wesley van Soest, confirmed the arrest. The duration and circumstances of Oussama B.’s stay in Morocco have not been specified. During his time on the run, he is also believed to have stayed in Dubai, Spain, Colombia and Mexico.
One week before his arrest, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal had sentenced him to more than eleven years in prison for his involvement in preparations for the murder of Derk Wiersum. According to the Dutch justice system, he belonged to the group that had conducted reconnaissance around the lawyer’s home and office, then provided vehicles used by the killers.
On Bladi.net : article 87204
Oussama B. also maintained contacts with several important members of the network, including Anouar Taghi, Ridouan Taghi’s nephew. The latter was sentenced to 26 years in prison for his role in the murder of Derk Wiersum. His appeal trial is still ongoing.
On the run after his detention was suspended
Derk Wiersum represented Nabil B., the key witness in the Marengo trial against the network led by Ridouan Taghi. He was shot dead outside his home in Amsterdam in September 2019. The two perpetrators of the murder, Moreno B. and Giërmo B., were each sentenced to thirty years in prison.
The lawyer’s murder profoundly shocked the Netherlands. It was part of a series of assassinations targeting those close to Nabil B.: his brother Reduan was killed in 2018, before the 2021 assassination of journalist Peter R. de Vries, who accompanied him as a confidant.
Oussama B. had been held in pretrial detention in 2019 and 2020. After the court suspended this measure, he left the Netherlands and evaded justice. He later offered to return, but only on the condition that he not be arrested in a country where he believed his rights might not be respected. Discussions initiated by his lawyer with the Dutch public prosecutor’s office did not succeed.
On Bladi.net : article 64116
According to Wesley van Soest, his client now says he is relieved after three years on the run. The lawyer claims that Oussama B. was exhausted by this manhunt and had chosen to take a flight despite the risk of arrest.
The French authorities are expected to hand him over to the Netherlands soon, where he will have to serve his sentence. Sezer B., who is also being prosecuted for his alleged participation in preparations for the murder of Derk Wiersum, remains on the run.