The court of appeal in Amsterdam on Thursday started the appeal in the case about the bombardment of the property in which the editorial board of weekly magazine Panorama is. Three suspects have been tried in the case, who were sentenced by the court last year to three and four years in prison. The Public Prosecution Service, which had imposed prison terms of up to seven years, appealed.
The Panorama office on the Teleportboulevard in Amsterdam Sloterdijk was shot at with a rocket launcher on 21 June 2018. There were no deaths or injuries, but the damage to the building was extensive. The suspects are members of motorcycle club Caloh Wagoh.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, it was a deliberate attack on the editorial of Panorama, but the Amsterdam court ruled in June last year that these were speculations because the motive has remained unknown. The penalties were therefore lower.
Richard Z. (43), president of the Woerden section of Caloh Wagoh, has been sentenced to the highest sentence with four years in prison and disagrees. He would have played a leading role. Suspects John P. (47) from Spijkenisse and Rotterdammer Mike van den B. (27) were convicted of the shooting themselves and each received three years in prison.
“I have been wrongly convicted,” said Van den B. in court on Thursday. He acknowledges that he was there, but denies knowing what was about to happen. He does not want to answer questions with whom he drove to Amsterdam. He stated that he was a driver only and saw that the other person had taken something out of his trunk on arrival, “an elongated tube object”. He was on the lookout when he heard a huge bang. “I was thinking of heavy fireworks,” said Van den B., who said he did not know at that time that the building had been shot at.
The court has set aside several days for the case. The prosecution of the Public Prosecution Service follows at a subsequent session. The date is not yet known, but according to the court, it will not be earlier than after January due to a full agenda.
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Source: Dagblad 101