Over 80 bullets hit a man leaving a fast-food restaurant, a severed head is placed in front of a bar, a minivan rams into the building of a prominent newspaper, the editorial office of another newspaper is fired on with a rocket launcher, and the brother, the advisor and the lawyer of an important informant are all killed. A while back, no one would have associated these events with the Netherlands, but all these things recently happened in the country of windmills and tulips. Robby Roks, Associate Professor of Criminology at Erasmus School of Law, explains these developments to Independent.
After the assassination of journalist Peter R. de Vries, international media once again spotlighted the current developments of organised crime in the Netherlands. Several news platforms quickly linked this assassination to the advice De Vries offered to Nabil B., the key witness in the Marengo case. This link has not officially been confirmed, but if it would be, Roks reckons this could lead to fundamental questions. Ridouan Taghi, the number-one suspect in the Marengo case, is currently held in the maximum-security prison in Vught and probably faces a lifelong sentence. According to Roks, these assassinations cannot be seen as desperate actions but as a power play against everyone associated with the key witnesses and even the Dutch State. Roks says this could indicate that the individuals currently facing trial in the Marengo case and parts of the related criminal organisations consider themselves invincible, with all the risks that follow.
Other types of violence
Roks emphasises that there is no increase in the amount of violence from the criminal world. However, these new conflicts within the criminal underground are more worrisome because of the types of violence committed. Shootings occur in broad daylight, close to schools, with many bystanders, and even accidental murders are committed. Roks thinks this can partially be traced back to the decreased level of professionalism of the assassins. These days, young and inexperienced Dutch assassins are used instead of experienced assassins originating from former Yugoslavia.
Heavier punishments, yes or no?
Shortly after the murder of the lawyer of Nabil B., Derk Wiersum, politician Geert Wilders commented on Twitter that he was not too sure whether the Dutch constitutional state still had the authority in the Netherlands or that our country had turned into a narco-state. Combining these comments with xenophobic rhetoric and a call for heavier punishments, Wilders might be heading in a counterproductive direction. Roks explains that long sentences for severe crimes indeed send an important signal, but this should not be the only action point. For example, Roks spoke to a suspect, who is claimed to be Taghi’s organiser for his assassinations, who told Roks that more severe punishments would only increase the gap between the government and particular communities. Even before the media hype around Taghi, Moroccans in the Netherlands were already seen as outsiders. Measures to prevent youth crime might counter the dangerous consequences of these crimes. Personally, Roks finds the term narco-state to be an exaggeration: “this term is catchy, but is inapplicable. In my experience, those in power in the Netherlands are not involved with the drug trafficking.”
Concerned for his safety?
Roks spoke with FunX about his safety in light of the assassination of Peter R. de Vries. When asked whether Roks was concerned about his safety, he answered: “Not particularly, but that is also because of the important differences between my job and a crime reporter’s job. Normally, criminologists do not expose information of criminals that they would have rather kept to themselves.”
He does, however, sometimes experience threatening or intimidating situations as a criminologist. In his field of work, he speaks to people who are affiliated with some serious crimes. An example of this is when he did his doctoral thesis about the members of the Crips in the Hague, for which he spent quite some time with Delano R., alias Keylow. Keylow is currently suspected to be the organiser of Taghi’s assassinations. Keylow and Roks did not agree on some parts of Roks’ doctoral thesis, which resulted in an altercation, after which Keylow got mad. After this, Roks decided to block Keylow on WhatsApp and consequently, some homies of Keylow confronted Roks in his office to tell him he should make things right with Keylow. Roks found this encounter genuinely threatening. At the start of last year, however, Roks met with Keylow in prison and made amends.
