IndyMedia - Vrij Media Centrum Nederland

Wanneer: 29/11/2016 - 21:04

www.solidariteit.noblogs.org

The courtcase against the comrade from amsterdam is taking place at the
Landesgericht of Aachen, following the pre-announced days.

So far the court has heard witness statements by the two bank employees
which were present in the bank on that morning in july 2013, describing a
robbery that took place before the opening times for the public, where
three people entered the aachener bank (which by the way has now been shut down)
with the first arriving employee. They waited about 5 minutes for the
second employee to arrive, as they both needed to be present to open the
safe. The three intruders took 42000 euros. The two employees describe
then being put into the office of the bank and tied with tie-ribs behind
their backs. Neither of them is sure to have had a weapon drawn or pointed at them during this time, although they were threatened to collaborate or be shot.
After being tied they did not see the three unusual customers again.
There are no witnesses declaring that they saw these three people leave.
The bound employees were liberated by a third employee, who arrived a
few minutes after the off-hour customers had left. she sounded the alarm and then untied them.

The bank was closed down for one week after the robbery to permit the
forensic police to scavenge. The following week the bank was back in
business. On that friday, exactly 11 days after the robbery took place, an other employee, while looking for some receipts in a cupboard, found himself holding an alarm pistol, and also observed there was a second one. The diligent worker immediately called
the police, who assumed these weapons were associated with the robbery.
On one of these two pistols was found the dna of the comrade from
amsterdam. Her DNA was matched after more than one year later, by the
Manchester police, who had taken a sample from her in 2009 after the
arrest for a minor crime.

None of the witnesses have given the minimum indication of recognizing
the comrade, nor have talked about any detail leading in her direction.
They also declared that they would not be able to recognize anyone from
that encounter.

Besides these witnesses the court has heard from various police
officers, those who arrived on the spot some minutes after the employees
gave the alarm. Also from them there were no statements of any significance.

Then took the stand heer Kessel, the police officer leading the
investigation, who disclosed the different steps of this investigation,
however, hiding behind some legal paragraph where he did not have to
talk about the details of the investigation which would reveal police
methods or the ongoing investigation against other suspects. He then
proceeded to, incited by the prosecutor, to talk about vague and
circumstantial ties with other anarchists.

This is an update regards the unfolding of the court case up to the 22nd of november 2016. More updates will follow.

By the 1st of december all the evidence will be presented in court.
On the 5th there will be the pleas of both the prosecution and the defense.
The day of the verdict should be announced on the 5th.

Solidarity with the comrade facing trial